


Young and Beautiful

by JustBeHappy



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Romance, Featuring Skate Family, Friendship, M/M, Self-Doubt, Some bullies - Freeform, Young!Victor, Young!Yuuri, mild anxiety, sassy Mila, very angry Yurio
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2018-10-05 00:56:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 40,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10293755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustBeHappy/pseuds/JustBeHappy
Summary: 13 year old Katsuki Yuuri got a little more than he expected when he signed up for the Yakov Feltsman's famous figure skating training camp.He most definitely didn't expect Victor Nikiforov to be there.





	1. Summer Camp with Yakov Feltsman?!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiiiiii!!!! :DDDDD Nice to see all of you again!!!! 
> 
> So we're going to have younger Yuuri and Victor here. For those of you that are wondering, they won't be in a relationship until they grow up, because technically, Yuuri is still a kid here. :PPP 
> 
> Anyways.... Let's begin!!!!!!

 ' Yuuri! I've got something for you,' Minako said, bounding towards the rink and waving a newspaper snippet triumphantly in her right hand.

 Yuuri had just landed a Double Axel, feeling immensely proud of himself. He was finding it easier and easier to land this jump these days and he might be able to attempt a Triple Axel soon. The dream of skating on the same ice as Victor didn't sound as far away as it did a year ago, when he first saw Victor skate on the battered television at the back of Ice Castle Hasetsu. 

  _The day Yuuri's life changed_ , as Yuuko would always say. And Mari would add,  _the fateful day Yuuri got a major celebrity crush._

' Yuuri,' Minako repeated, louder this time.

 ' Sorry, yes?' Yuuri grinned sheepishly, skated over to the entrance to meet up with his ballet teacher.

 ' Look at what I found!' She sang, shoving the paper at his nose. When he saw the words on the paper, he thought he might faint on the spot.

 

  **Young aspiring figure skaters are in luck! Yakov Feltsman is holding a 1 month training summer camp. 20 slots available.**

**Good news for young figure skaters all over the world!**

**Coach Yakov Feltsman of Russia will be holding a 1 month summer camp at St.Petersburg. Yakov Feltsman is currently one of the the best coaches in the world, and his most successful students are Victor Nikiforov and Evgenia Vasilieva, both of whom are reigning gold medalists in respective divisions.**

**The summer camp involves an intensive skating program, fitness program and an optional ballet program, which will be led by Madame Lilia Baranovskaya, the former prima ballerina of the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet. Besides that, a senior figure skater from the national team will be assigned to each skater, acting as mentors. Hopefully, skaters can cultivate a lifelong** **friendship as well as improve their skating.**

**20 slots are available (10 slots for skaters aged 8-12 and 10 slots for skaters aged 13-15).**

**There are two rounds of selection. All applicants will have to be reviewed by the coach.** **Those who are interested, please send in your personal information, portfolio consisting of skating records and previous achievements (if any) for the first round. In the second round, you will need to fill in a form.**

**Successful applicants will be informed by mail at the end of this month.**

**Apply via this link ( x) and more information can be found here. (x)**

**We hope to see you soon!**   

 

 Oh. My. God.

 Yakov Feltsman!!! He was the best coach to be found!!! Also, he was the coach of THE Victor Nikiforov, the skater Yuuri so looked up to and admired.

 Note, _admired_. He might be building the hugest Victor Nikiforov merchandise museum in his room, but he admired him. That's all.

 ('Righttttt,' said Mari.)

 Normally, this summer camp was only open to Russian skaters, so he was elated that it would be opening up to skaters from all over the world. 

 He would willingly sell his soul to be able to join this summer camp. And he might die happy if he was able to catch a small glimpse of Victor Nikiforov.

 ' Sooo,' Minako said slowly, watching Yuuri's reaction. ' What do you say? You're interested, are you?'

 ' I am,' Yuuri said, the inner fanboy part of him almost exploding. But the more sensible part of him told him,  _dude. Yakov Feltsman is the best. Many people will want to train under him. And the chance of you being part of the 20 skaters is slim because no way you are as good as the others. And I think Russian skaters will take up most of the spots._ 'It's just that... I may not make it. Yakov Feltsman only wants the best. I'm just... Me.'

 ' Nonsense!' Minako's eyes flashed whenever Yuuri doubted himself. ' Look, your Axel jumps might be your strongest jumps, and it is the hardest. Many skaters who can do Quads cannot do an Axel properly. Also, you've been winning gold in your last three competitions. At this rate, the JSF will be inviting you to the JGP anytime soon. Not to mention, your step sequences are the best because of your ballet background. You will be Japan's ace in the future! So yes, I think you will be able to make it.'

  ' Ummmm,' Yuuri squirmed uncomfortably under Minako's gaze. 

 Minako coaxed, ' You might be paired up with Victor Nikiforov. Look, it says here... A senior skater from the national team will be assigned to each participant!'

 ' No way,' Yuuri blushed at the thought of it. ' He's too busy. No way Victor Nikiforov is going to be involved in some... amateurish Junior program. He has to gear up for his next season.'

 ' But you are training at the national rink,' Minako reasoned. ' You might be able to catch a small sneak peek of him during practice. Come on, Yuuri! Your parents are okay with it, I asked them just now! It's worth a shot!'

 ' Fineee,' Yuuri said, still blushing at the thought of his idol, agreed with her at last. ' I'll give it a try.'

 ' Now that's the Victor Nikiforov fan I know,' Minako smiled. ' Well... I'll be sending out your information for you. Ooh, there's also Lilia-senpai. I can pull some strings if you want. You can get in without a problem.'

 ' No,' Yuuri said firmly. ' I want to get in fair and square.'

 Minako ruffled his hair fondly, ' Of course you will. Now carry on practicing, I will take care of it for you.'

 Yuuri skated away to practice his Flip jumps this time, hoping with all his heart that he would be able to succeed. 

  ***

 ' Yakovvvvvv!!! But I don't want to be in this... camp thing!' Victor complained, pulling at Yakov's jacket all the way through the corridors. ' I am busy! The Winter Olympics is coming up soon! I don't have time for this if I want to get a gold medal or ratify a Quad Flip in the near future.'

 ' It's a good learning experience,' Yakov glowered at him. ' You are part of the program whether you want to or not. You will be paired up with a young skater and you have no saying in this. I'm revoking your competing rights if you continue to be like this.'

 ' WHAT,' Victor shouted. ' You can't do this- OOF! Sorry!' He nearly ran into a tiny kid dressed from head to toe in tiger print, holding a small pair of skates to his chest.

 To his horror and surprise, the 5 year old kid shot him the most evil glare he had ever seen in his entire life and bellowed, ' WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!' And ran away.

 Great. Kids nowadays could curse. What next?

 ' Who's that?!' Victor stared. ' Did he just...'

 ' New kid. I wouldn't anger him if I were you,' Yakov sighed. ' He's a feisty and ambitious one. And that's not the point so stop changing the topic. Look, Evgenia is also participating in this. Georgi has also agreed to help.'

 Sure, he looked up to Evgenia, who was like an older sister to him. But that didn't mean he had to be like her! 

 ' Assign me Mila then,' Victor said stubbornly, reminding the coach of the 9 year old skater at the rink. She would be joining the national team and once she reached 13 years old. Yakov was planning to pick her as his new student, but her conduct proved to be a problem. She enjoyed hitting everyone.  

 ' No way! The last time I left her with you, you were off skating while she punched the daylights of the other skaters! And if I remember correctly, you encouraged it!' Yakov pointed out severely. ' I had to explain to the other coaches about it! I am the head coach of this rink and I can't tolerate behaviour like this. So no, I will be assigning Evgenia, who is way more sensible, to her.' 

 ' They are brats and they are bullying the younger kids,' Victor said innocently, redoing his ponytail. ' They deserve a good beating and a lesson. And this shows Mila has _strength_. She'll be doing Quads anytime soon. Imagine: The first female figure skater to do a Quad! You should be proud.'

 He swore a vein twitched in Yakov's forehead.

 ' Why are you so stubborn about this anyways?' Yakov tried to keep his temper down. ' If you want to take over me as head coach after you retire, you had better start now. Coaches don't just appear out of thin air, boy! My own coach made sure I had experiences of coaching while I was still competing and she was right.' 

 ' My career officially started a year ago,' Victor quipped. ' Is it a little too early to think about retirement? I still have a lot of hair.' As if to prove his point, he flipped his silvery hair dramatically over his shoulder. 

 Yakov raged, ' No more words! It is final. You will be assigned a young skater.'

 Victor groaned. He should have known it when Yakov announced that he would be expanding his summer camp to skaters all over the world. 

 It wasn't that he was selfish or anything. He wasn't good at communicating with others, and the thought of teaching a kid made him feel sick. Especially the very bratty juvenile skaters in the rink, who had been strongly hinting that they wanted to be paired up with him since the day Yakov made that 'doomsday' announcement. He had been ignoring them. 

 Looking at Victor's rather sour expression, Yakov sighed, ' Fine. Here's the deal. I'll let you choose who you want to be paired up with.'

 ' I'm choosing Mila,' Victor said stubbornly. 

 ' NO,' Yakov closed his eyes. ' Anyone except Mila. I don't want her to go around hitting everyone again. There were around 300 applicants all over the world, and I have shortlisted around 50 skaters for the second round. You can pick one skater from the remaining pool.'

 Victor griped and complained, but in the end, he agreed begrudgingly when Yakov brought up his competing rights again. 

  ' I will be sending in the details after practice,' Yakov said. ' Well, let's go back to the rink. I want to look at your FS again. Your Triple Lutz combination is a little wobbly.' 

 Victor grumbled under his breath. He dreaded looking at the information of those skaters. 

 Oh. How wrong he was. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Virtual cookies to anyone that can guess who the angry 5 year old is!!! XDDD
> 
> And the part at the end explains why Yakov was like ' THE MAN ONLY THINKS ABOUT HIMSELF HE'LL NEVER BE ANYONE'S COACH' in ep2. ·ω·


	2. Victor makes up his mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again :PPP Yeah this fic will get regular updates like how 'Standard Deviation' did. My other fic will be updated less frequently, soooo....
> 
> And... Introducing my OC Evgenia, Yakov's other student. She's 21 years old. She is the reigning champ in the ladies' division and holder of the FS world record (yup, as expected of Yakov's student). She should have retired by the YOI timeline, and Victor considers her as a family member other than Yakov. :333

 When his application made it past the first round, Yuuri ran around in his room screaming at the top of his lungs and Vicchan barked excitedly. He probably didn't know what had happened, but he knew that his human was very happy. 

 He was one step closer to his dream! He thought it was impossible, but he was halfway there! 

 They sent him an application form full of questions, and that would be taken into consideration as well.

 ' Calm down,' He told himself, grabbed a pen and sat down to read the questions. ' You still have a second round to go through.'

 Most of them were simple, asking about how frequently he did figure skating, how much he liked figure skating and whether he wanted to pursue the career of competitive figure skater in the future. He filled them in without hesitation, and at this question, he was stumped.

  **8** **.** **Who introduced you to figure skating?**

**A. Family    B. Friends    C. Media    D. Others (Please specify: _________ )**

 Well... Technically... It should be Yuuko. She first invited him to Ice Castle Hasetsu, helped him tie up his skates and took him under her wing when Takeshi was being particularly difficult. She showed him to Victor Nikiforov and his life changed forever.

 But the thing was... Victor made him truly fall in love with figure skating. He inspired him in a different sense and he caused Yuuri to want to figure skate for the rest of his life.

 His pen hovered over the choice B for a moment, before he decisively circled D. 

 Great. Please specify. He wondered what Yakov Feltsman would say when he saw the name of his student. But well, most people looked up to Victor Nikiforov, didn't they? That shouldn't be a problem, right?

 He blushed and before he could change his mind, he scrawled down _Victor Nikiforov._

 Question 9 was even worse. 

  **9.** **Referring to Question 8, why were you motivated to continue after being introduced to figure skating?**

 It was an open-ended question. Crap! Who even designed this set of questions? 

 Yuuri's English was okay, he had been learning it since he was 8. But he was finding it hard to describe his feelings and he felt so embarrassed. He couldn't write that he loved the way Victor skated or that he had a celebrity crush on Victor!!! 

 This was just embarrassing. If Victor Nikiforov read this, he might just be laughing himself crazy about his childish dream and be like  _ahahaha nice joke, kid._

Maybe not. Victor Nikiforov was polite and incredibly sweet to his fans. But yeah, he would still be laughing at him because it sounded ridiculous. 

 He banged his head on the table, wanting to hide in a hole and die.

 He told himself, ' Victor Nikiforov won't even read this. Why am I worrying about it?' 

 So he just scribbled down what he had been thinking about, sealed it in an envelope and gave it Minako. 

 ***

 ' Victor, cheer up! It's going to be okay,' Evgenia said after Victor was complaining about the arrangement for the umpteenth time in the same day. 

 Victor groaned, ' I am supposed to be training for my senior debut! I don't have time for this.'

 ' You will meet new friends from different countries,' Evgenia dug her toe pick into the ice. ' It's a good experience, I'd say. I am jealous actually. I would love to know other people, not that I don't enjoy Mila's company. The only people I know that from different countries are my competitors. And they hate me.' She added the last part thoughtfully. 

 Victor simply pouted at her.

 She sighed, ' Vitya, you don't skate forever. You have to get a life.'

 ' Ice is my life.'

 ' I thought you said you were lonely.'

 ' I am lonely.'

 ' Then go and make some friends.'  

 ' I can't be friends with a 9 year old, just saying,' Victor said, crossed his arms over his chest. ' And I am awfully antisocial.' 

 ' Yakov's allowing you to choose, isn't he? You could always pick the kids in the rink if you are actually feeling _antisocial_. Like... Denis or Mikhail? They've been telling me about how much they want you to teach them.'

 ' They are rude. Mila kicked them in the butt the other time.'

 ' Um. Some older kids?' 

 ' Not to be rude, but I am going to be really picky. The person will have to be good at skating,' Victor announced. 

 ' Don't be mean,' she said. ' You don't judge a person by looking at how they skate. Try not to be antisocial this time. I know we all suck at communicating with each other, but you can learn. Like... Communicate with each other through skating and your mutual passion for skating!' 

 ' Yes, sis,' Victor answered, and Evgenia ruffled his hair fondly. Most people would have mistaken the two as siblings, because they had similar piercing blue eyes. But Evgenia had caramel brown hair which she liked to keep in a long braid with a ribbon. 

 She was probably the only one he considered as a friend at the rink. He couldn't really understand Georgi sometimes, with his rather cynical view towards life and his strange obsession with the ice dancer named Anya. 

 Maybe Evgenia was right. 

 He might just give it a try. 

 ***

 Victor buried his face in the fur of his poodle Makkachin, and groaned. True to his words, Yakov sent him the entire list of the 50 figure skaters he had shortlisted. He had been hoping that Yakov would forget about it, but no. 

 ' Let's look at the mess I've gotten myself into, Makka,' Victor sighed.

 Second thoughts, he might just be extremely picky and tell Yakov that he wasn't pleased with any of them. 

 Yeah. That might work. Maybe Yakov would give up and assign him Mila in the end.

 But in his mind, Evgenia gave him a rather pointed look, so he got to work and clicked open the file immediately. Yakov had made little notes about each skater.

 He recognised the first person on the list. The silver medalist of last year's JGP. He had seen him skate before.

  ' Not interested,' He said aloud, and scrolled down without looking at the rest of the information.

 He skipped an entire bunch of skaters.

 He stopped at the file of some kid called Jean-Jacques Leroy, because he recognised the names of his parents. Nathalie and Alain Leroy of Canada. They were Olympic gold medalists, the ice dance pair that dominated the world for years until they retired to get married.

 He read through his information, well, he got gold for most of the junior local competitions in Canada. He was good. But that... Hand sign thing he did at the end of every skate annoyed him. And for Question 9 of the form, he answered ' Because I want to be the King of figure skating like my parents. JJ STYLE ROCKS and all ladies loveeeee JJ.' He groaned.

 Okay. Apparently kids could swear AND flirt with ladies. He wondered what was next. 

 Ugh. Not interested. He would rather jump of a building than to listen to that crap everyday.

 He found Mila's file and he spent half an hour on a video of her previous competition, watching her hobble around doing Double Toe Loops. She was improving fast and her stamina was impressive. Yes, she managed to take down skaters double her size. 

 He stopped briefly at the file of a female figure skater from France and was almost tempted. From her grainy reference videos, he could tell that she had a lot of potential. Her jumping techniques were advanced for an 11 year old, but her step sequences were lacking. He couldn't quite point out what was wrong with it. It just felt... Lacking.

 He scrolled past her files again, and moved onto the next batch of skaters.

 Again and again. Many skaters were good at jumping. One 8 year old kid tried a Triple jump in his practice, and he almost made it. Another girl attempted a Double Axel, and she missed it by a little. It impressed Victor. Man, those kids could jump. But again, their step sequences were lacklustre. Boring, in fact. It just didn't feel right and that wasn't exactly the thing he was looking for. 

 He was about to give up.

 ' Oh lord!!!' He wailed, and Makkachin licked his cheek. ' It's wasting my time!' 

 He realised he had one skater left. Whatever. He might just take a look and go to sleep...

  **Katsuki Yuuri [JP], 13**

' Japan, huh?' He said to Makkachin. ' I think he's the only Japanese that made it past Yakov's first round. I don't think Japan has many skaters these days. What a surprise!'

 Makkachin barked excitedly. He scrolled down to the photo.

  It was a picture of a cute kid with fairly chubby cheeks, dark hair and chocolate brown eyes. His adorable smile melted Victor's heart immediately.

  ' HE'S SO... _Kawaii_!' Victor hugged at Makkachin, using the Japanese word he knew (learnt it from his Japanese fans). ' Okay, Victor. You can't just decide like that. You need to look at his skating videos.' He poked at one of the videos provided. 

 This Yuuri boy was skating to a traditional Japanese folk song. His jumps were fairly good, probably needed more work, but... His step sequences... 

 It was like a flip was switched in his head. 

 ' This is what I have been looking for!' Victor whispered to Makkachin. 

 This Yuuri boy was flexible, and he had the grace of a ballerina (he knew because well, Lilia). There was so much passion when he was skating, and Victor could really feel his love for skating through the screen.  

 There was something else. Something... Oddly familiar. 

 And when he moved into his Axel jump, the answer was so obvious. Heck, the entrance method. It was  _his_ method! 

 Yakov always said to him, ' Every skater has his or her own style, and it's pretty obvious. It can be a signature jump entrance, combination spin or step sequence. And sometimes, you can look at each skater and find out who inspired their skating.' 

 ' Ah,' He squished at Makkachin again. ' He's my fan! This is so adorable! His step sequences are good.' Yakov had also noticed this, he had noted down 'good step sequence, decent jumps' in the margin. Heck, with more training, he could be a world-class skater.

 He scrolled down to the questions. So he had been skating at a local ice rink since he was 5. Interesting.

 At Question 8, he blushed when Yuuri had circled D and wrote down his name. So he was correct. He really was his fan. 

 ' Awwwww!!!' Victor said, aware that he was acting like an embarrassing fanboy. ' Makka, he said I inspired him! Awwwww! He said I surprise him every single time I skate and he wants to be able to skate on the same ice as me! This is so cute!!!' He spent the entire evening watching all his skating videos, and he could really tell that his programs were influenced by him.  

 He had made up his mind at the end of the night.

 So he marched into training the next day and said to Yakov, ' I have made up my mind.' Evgenia looked up and smiled. 

 ' Who? The Leroy boy?'

 ' No, not him. Never. I want Katsuki Yuuri.' 

 Yakov blinked, ' Huh? The... Japanese skater? You're being oddly specific.' Praise Yakov for his photographic memory.

 ' Yes.'

 Yakov looked at him, before nodding, ' Well, his step sequences are great, thanks to his ballet background. His jumps need more work, but yes, I can see why you picked him. Very well. I will assign you to him.'

 Victor whooped, and Yakov seemed taken back by his enthusiasm towards the program. He simply shook his head and walked away with a clipboard.

 ' Woah,' Evgenia grinned. ' What's with the sudden change? I thought you were going to be extremely picky.'

 ' I am picky, but he has met my requirements,' Victor said. ' And he's my fan. So I like him.'

 ' Fan? Is that so?' Evgenia joked. ' By the way, Denis and Mikhail are also your fans. I don't have the impression that you _like_ them.'

 ' Denis and Mikhail are brats,' He retorted. ' My Yuuri is as pure and cute as an _angel_.' 

 The older skater raised her eyebrows at the phrase ' My Yuuri ', but she didn't comment about it. 

 ' Look at his skate videos,' He urged her. ' He's really good. He has a lot of potential.'

 ' Naw,' She smiled. ' I was just joking. I trust your judgement, little bro. If you think he's good, then he must be good. I can't wait to see him in person.'

 ' Me too.' 

  Victor went back to his programs.

 He was already looking forward to seeing his itty bitty fan. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :PPP Hope you liked it!!!
> 
> Wow, I was watching the Junior World Men's SP today... I am not that up to date with junior skaters, but man, they are pretty impressive and promising!!! :DDD 
> 
> Patiently waiting for the Worlds... Looking forward to seeing Yuzuru, Nathan, Shoma, Evgenia and Virtue and Moir skate because they are awesome. <333


	3. ' Yuuri, starting from today, I am your mentor!' ' HAAAH?!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :PPP
> 
> In this chapter, Yuuri meets a lot of people.

 The letter of acceptance arrived on the fateful day of the JWC Men's FS. 

 Yuuri ran around in Yutopia with his letter, screaming at the top of his lungs, terrifying guests while Vicchan trailed behind him, echoing a similar sentiment.

 YES! He would be going to St.Petersburg in July! He would be training with Yakov Feltsman! He had no idea how he managed to squish into the 20 slots, but he had done it! 

 He screamed some more, burying his face into his pillow until his mother (somewhat proud and exasperated at the same time) called him out for dinner. He quickly got out of his bedroom, because he needed to watch the FS live on TV. Victor had skated a record breaking SP the day before, and he was expected to do the same thing for his FS before moving on to the Senior division.

 Yuuri munched on his favourite katsudon, and screamed in delight when his idol nailed the Quad Salchow and Triple Axel, taking home his gold in the Junior division and the Junior record with ease.  He had thought his performance at the Russian Nationals was the best, but no, this one topped that. 

 Man, he was really excited to train under Yakov Feltsman. 

 He was half dying in anticipation for the camp. He would be flying to St.Petersburg with a flight escort, and Minako-sensei did pull some strings with her own idol Lilia, because he needed someone to take him to the rink. And THE Lilia Baranovskaya actually agreed to drive him to the rink.

 He had seen a lot of videos of Lilia Baranovskaya, and he particularly admired her performance of the Sugarplum Fairy. The way she danced around on the stage was mesmerising and she was the best ballerina the Bolshoi Ballet ever had.

 She looked rather formidable and strict, and Yuuri was nervous about meeting her, maybe even more so than meeting Yakov Feltsman or the slim possibility of seeing Victor Nikiforov, because he had the impression that she disliked figure skaters. Well, she divorced one years ago. 

 But Minako kept reassuring him that she could be really soft and motherly if she wanted to. He wasn't that convinced, but he went with it, because she was one of his favourite ballerinas. Hey, he might be a figure skater, but that didn't mean he couldn't like ballet at the same time. 

 He marked down the date of the camp on his desk calendar, and started ticking at the dates as days went by.

 ***

The day of camp approached fast (YES!) and soon, he was stuffing his suitcase into his father's car. 

 Yuuko and Takeshi were there to see him off. While Takeshi gruffly told him to enjoy himself, Yuuko was still shrieking herself hoarse about how jealous she was and begged for autographs and photos. 

 ' IF YOU SEE VICTOR, PLEASE GET ME AN AUTOGRAPH! AND A PHOTO TOO, IF YOU CAN,' she pleaded. ' OOH ALSO ASK ABOUT MAKKACHIN!' 

 ' This is embarrassing,' Takeshi complained. ' You can't ask Yuuri to go up to him and ask for an autograph just like that!'

 ' What?' Yuuko snapped. ' He's always polite and sweet towards his fans. He won't decline.'

 ' Yeah, he's nice, but... No offence, Victor won't be showing up in a program like this. He needs to practice,' Takeshi said.

 Yuuko screamed at him for being a spoilsport. As disappointed as Yuuri was, he agreed with Takeshi. Victor was too important and busy to be showing up just like that.  And he would be able to die happy now because he would be training in the same rink as him. So technically, he was skating on the same ice (yep) as Victor. Wish partially came true. Not so bad!  

 Hiroko hugged and kissed her son, asking him to phone often and take care of himself. Mari held out Vicchan to him, and the poodle licked his face.

 ' See you soon, Vicchan!' He told his beloved poodle.

 His dad drove him to the airport, telling his son to enjoy himself and allowed the kind flight escort to lead Yuuri away.

 He enjoyed the flight, though he didn't really sleep, because his heart was pounding with excitement and anticipation. 

 When the plane touched down at the airport, the escort took him to the terminal where Lilia Baranovskaya would be waiting.

 Boy, he recognised her amongst the crowds as soon as he stepped out with his suitcase.

 Her dark hair was pulled into a very tight bun, and her posture was straight and perfect from all the years of being a professional ballerina. She had this impressive aura around her that usually presided on ballerinas, and that was probably due to the stern expression she was constantly wearing, apart from the heavy makeup. 

 ' Madame Baranovskaya,' He bowed respectfully, as Minako had instructed him to.

 ' Call me Lilia. You are Katsuki Yuuri, right?' She had a distinctive Russian accent. ' Minako has told me all about you. I am still pretty surprised she let her protege figure skate instead of doing ballet. Hmmmm...'

 Yuuri felt like he was being X-rayed by her lime green eyes, and he squirmed uncomfortably under her steely gaze. ' She used to grab her students' faces to inspect their mouth for any cavities,' Minako joked. Yuuri had no idea whether she was being serious or not.

 At last, Lilia nodded, ' Mm, you've got a good posture, very good. Follow me, I will take you to the rink.' She had a nice car, and she played classical music while she drove. Yuuri was fine with it, and he allowed himself to relax. Neither of them spoke.

 They pulled up at the breathtaking structure that was the home rink of the national team. 

  _Oh, I am not dreaming, I am really here,_ Yuuri was giddy. 

 She helped him with his suitcase, and ushered him into the building, ' We are early. The other kids won't be here until 10, I think. Let me see if there is anyone that can look after you in the mean time...' 

 The inside of the structure made Ice Castle Hasetsu look like a playground. Everything seemed so... Shiny and professional.

 She pushed open the glass doors to the rink, and Yuuri allowed himself to gasp at how beautiful the rink was. At Ice Castle, everything was just steel grey. But here, the walls were colour-coordinated, and there were windows providing a nice view outside. He figured out the skaters would be happy practicing here.

 There was only one person on the ice at the moment. Yuuri felt like he would faint when he realised who that was. 

 Evgenia Vasilieva, 3-times Grand Prix gold medalist, 5-times World gold medalist, 4-times Europeans medalist and a bunch of other titles. She was amongst the few female figure skaters that would attempt and nail a Triple Axel in competition.

 Meanwhile, Yuuri was dizzy. He couldn't believe that he was actually seeing world-class figure skaters in _real life_ and not on TV. 

  He was so sure he would explode immediately upon catching a glimpse of Victor Nikiforov, no doubt about that.

 She did a Triple Axel out of nowhere, and when she landed, she caught sight of the two. Being the shy boy he was, Yuuri promptly hid behind the tall and slim figure of Lilia, while his fanboy mind repeated ' ALERT ALERT I AM IN THE PRESENCE OF A FAMOUS FIGURE SKATER OH MY GOD.' 

 ' Oh! Madame Baranovskaya,' She skated towards them, looking surprised. ' We aren't expecting you. Are you here for Coach Yakov? Should I call him for you?'

 Her hair was in a messy braided bun for practice, and some strands were sticking out of it. 

 ' No,' Lilia said coolly. ' I am just stopping by briefly to... Drop down young Katsuki Yuuri.'

 The female skater looked down at Yuuri, before her confused expression split into the widest grin Yuuri had ever seen, ' Ohhhhhh!!! So that's Yuuri. Welcome to our home rink, hope you will enjoy your stay with us. I've seen your skating videos, and you are awesome.' She bent down to shake his hand, and Yuuri's 'fanboy meter' blew up. His face might be resembling a tomato at this point. ' Oh, where are my manners? I'm Evgenia Vasilieva. Nice to meet you.'

 Overwhelmed, Yuuri spluttered like a fish, his ears and neck warm, ' I-I know! I am a f-fan of yours.'

 ' Aww, aren't you sweet?' She beamed, and straightened to speak to Lilia, ' I can take him and show him around the rink before the orientation session starts, Madame.'

 ' That would be great,' Lilia answered. ' Please take good care of him. And Yuuri, I assume you will be joining my ballet class?'

 He nodded.

 ' Good, I'll see you then,' Lilia said, and walked out of the rink, her high heeled boots making clacking noises on the floor.

 ' Cool! Hi again,' Evgenia grinned. ' Technically, your mentoring skater should be taking you around the rink in the orientation session later, but since we have  _plenty_ of time, I can show you around first.'

 ' Umm,' Yuuri said timidly. ' Are you my mentoring skater?'

 ' Oh, not me. I am assigned to a fellow Junior skater,' She actually looked behind her with the weirdest expression, before smiling knowingly at him. ' Someone else. You will know later. Put your things here. No worries, no one will steal your stuff.'

  _Okay_ , Yuuri thought. Not that he didn't want Evgenia to be his assigned skater, but he was sure that he wouldn't be able to survive a month with his fanboy meter going off all the time. And Yuuko would definitely green with envy.

  ' Alright,' Evgenia said, clapping her hands together. ' Be ready for the best tour of your life!' 

  ***

 Evgenia was a good tour guide. She showed him the break room, supplies room, locker room, showers and the dorms.

 ' There are 30 or so bedrooms here, in case skaters want to practice overnight,' She explained, taking him back to the rink. ' The head of the rink has allowed Coach Yakov to use it as a dormitory for the camp. It's about time, I think. Your skater can show you the gardens later, it's really nice.'

 Yuuri nodded keenly, ' Thanks.'

 ' Your English is pretty good by the way,' Evgenia complimented. ' At your age, my English sucked. Until Coach Yakov forced me to study it up when I had to be interviewed. Oh, Yuri! Where are you going?' 

 Yuuri thought she was talking to him and before he could answer, he spotted a young kid walking past them. The kid had blonde hair, glaring green eyes and was wearing... a leopard print jacket? It was awfully big on him.

 The kid spoke rapidly in Russian, and pointed at Yuuri with a hiss that didn't sound very friendly. 

 ' да, oн член лагеря,' She said, and switched back to English. ' Sorry about it! Er, this is Yuri Plisetsky, a member in the beginner's class. He's 5 years old. Yura, это Katsuki Yuuri. Вы можете говорить по-английски для него? да? Спасибо. Ah yes, quick translation. I am asking Yura to speak in English. He's okay with it, I think.' 

 The kid - Yuri, glared at Yuuri, ' You also called Yuri?'

 ' Um, yes,' Yuuri said, freaked out by the fact that a tiny 5 year old could look so intimidating and menacing. ' You are Yuri too?'

 Small Yuri snarled, ' Too many Yuris! There can only be one Yuri.'

 Evgenia interrupted, ' Yura, I believe Yuuri's name has two "u"s. It's a Japanese thing, I guess, so it's different. We will call you Yura anyways, да?'

 Yuri nodded grumpily, ' Fine.' He marched away. 

 ' Don't mind Yura's temper,' Evgenia quickly said. ' He's usually a good kid. Ah, the other people are here to skate already? You should go and meet them.'

 ' What about you?' Yuuri panicked. He was terrified. The other kids were most likely excellent skaters and already famous. He would probably look pathetic skating near them. 

 ' I need to find Coach Yakov. Preparations, documents and bla bla bla. I will be back soon, though,' Evgenia dipped her head apologetically. ' Go find your skates, Yuuri. See you later!' 

 He shakily grabbed his skates from his belongings, laced them up and stepped onto the ice.

 There were a lot of kids. He recognised some. Oh, god.

 He spotted several JGP skaters, namely Diego Aguado, the gold medalist of the JGP and Jack Chen, the silver medalist. 

 He recognised Jean-Jacques Leroy, the son of the two most successful ice dancers, and he had already made a lot of appearances on TV at the age of ten, long before he could qualify for the Junior events.

 And several young Russian skaters, anxious to make their Junior debut.

 His legs felt like lead. He didn't want to embarrass himself in front of them. He skated over to the furthest corner, hoping he wouldn't be seen.'

 ' Who's the newbie?' Someone asked in English, and he groaned. He was seen.

 A large boy with carroty hair flanked with two more skaters behind him leered at him unpleasantly. 

 ' I... I am Katsuki Yuuri,' He stammered, knowing that the boys were twice his size.

 ' Aren't you a scrawny one?' Sidekick #1 snickered.  Sidekick #2 laughed.

 The large boy scoffed, ' He doesn't look like he can skate. I am Denis Pavlov, and these are my friends, Mikhail Kuznetsov and Anton Romanov. We own this place, geddit? Victor Nikiforov will teach us- ow!'

 Yuuri watched in horror as the boy was kicked from behind. His goons scattered as fast as wind.

 ' Get lost, Babicheva!' The boy - Denis, shrieked, howling in pain. He skated away like hell was chasing him, to reveal a girl laughing pleasantly behind him.

 ' Er, thank you,' Yuuri said. He was pretty confused by kids at this point. So far, he had met a punk-like five year old kid and now, he was looking at a young girl that could roundhouse kick someone from behind.

 ' Those guys are not nice,' She said, patting at her wavy auburn hair. ' I kick them all the time. Coach Yakov isn't happy.'

 ' Errrr,' Yuuri swallowed. 

 ' Are you skating?' The girl asked.

 ' Yes,' Yuuri replied.

 She brightened up, ' Let's skate together! I'm Mila. Mila Babicheva. I'm a Junior skater,'

 ' And I'm Katsuki Yuuri. I'm a Senior skater,' Yuuri said, relieved that he knew someone nice, even though Mila was really small. ' Well, I'm 13. I just made it into the Senior bracket of this program, so...'

 She pulled at him, laughing and they twirled around the ice. More kids were joining the rink at that point. Jean-Jacques Leroy was flexing his muscles (really?!) at his newly acquired fangirls, while Denis and his goons walked around, intimidating kids. 

 ' Shouldn't the head of rink do something about them?' Yuuri asked weakly.

 ' No one bothers to tell him, I think,' Mila said sadly. ' So I kick them all the time when they bully people. I get into trouble for doing it, but Victor always helps.'

 ' Victor?!' Yuuri jolted. His fanboy meter exploded again at the mention of his beloved idol. 

 ' Yes, Victor Nikiforov,' Mila said. ' He's a great figure skater. He dislikes those bad bullies too. Are you a fan of his?' She watched him beadily.

 ' YES,' He said quickly and blushed when Mila's eyes lit up at his enthusiasm. ' He's the best. I was inspired to skate because of him. He means so much to me.'

 ' Awww!' Mila squealed. ' Really?'

 ' Yeah, he-'

 Suddenly, someone shrieked. 

 Heads turned. 

 People stopped skating.

 ' Huh? What happened?' Yuuri asked when a girl literally collapsed on the ice, and he looked behind him. His heart stopped. His fan boy meter was in complete chaos.

 Standing at the entrance of the rink, was Victor FREAKING Nikiforov. In all his silver-haired glory and good looks. He winked at them and more girls fainted. Even the male skaters were in awe at the presence of the famous skater.

 ' Victor Nikiforov!' JJ said in a hushed whisper. 

 ' NO WAY!' He heard a Canadian skater shout. ' VICTOR NIKIFOROV? WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?!'

 ' Oh my god, oh my god!!!!!!!!' Some of the girls freaked out, scrambling for bits of paper and pens. ' He's so hot in real life! I need to get his freaking autograph!'

 Denis puffed out his chest condescendingly. 

 Yuuri had absolutely no idea why Victor Nikiforov would be showing up. This was insane!!! He should go back and tell Minako-sensei that he did see Victor in person. 

 What a day! He managed to catch a glimpse of Evgenia and Victor in the same hour. He would be able to die happy.

 And then, Victor looked straight at him with a blinding smile and _Yuuri.exe_ stopped working. 

 NO WAY!!! HIS IDOL WAS ACKNOWLEDGING HIS PRESENCE!!! 

 He smiled at Yuuri, and held out a hand to him dramatically, ' Yuuri! Starting from today, I am your mentor!' 

 Silence.

 Absolute silence.

 Mila said softly, ' Ohhhh.'

 ' HAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!!!!!!!!!!!!' Yuuri screamed.

 One could hear his scream all the way from Japan. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nurufufufufu!!! 
> 
> For those of you who might be interested... (lol) Makkachin and Vicchan interaction will happen (because I love them both!!!!!) in the later chapters, but not now. But I can guarantee that it WILL happen. ^♡^ 
> 
> Next chapter:


	4. It probably isn't going too well...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh sorry for not updating at such a strange time! But the server was down when I tried to update, soooo...... :PPP Yeah.

It took two ice cold bottles of water from Evgenia, musings on Victor's part, a sharp jab to the shins by Mila and angry hollers in Russian from Yuri (who had somehow showed up after hearing The Scream™ ) to convince Yuuri that he wasn't dreaming, and Victor effing Nikiforov was really here to be his mentor of the month.

 Till then, he was still sitting dazedly on the ice, holding onto the empty bottle like his lifeline. His mouth opened and closed at irregular intervals, staring at the patch of ice in front of him as if the Russian skaters didn't exist. The other skaters gawked. Denis was still trying to pick up his jaw from the ice, and he failed spectacularly.

 ' VITYA,' Yakov roared from the distance, and everyone snapped into attention at the legendary coach. ' WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! I TOLD YOU TO STAY PUT AT- WHAT HAPPENED?' 

 Victor flinched.

 Evgenia whistled, ' Whoooooops.'

 ' Yuuri is surprised!' Mila supplied cheerfully. 

 ' He nearly fainted,' Yuri corrected with a huff.

 ' Please get off the ice, Yura,' Yakov ordered. ' Zhenya, you are the most sensible girl out of all my students. Tell me, what happened to this poor boy? You haven't been bullying him, have you?' His tone was sharp and he gestured to Yuuri.

 ' No! I would never bully Yuuri!' Victor exclaimed.

 Evgenia sighed, ' Victor showed up early, and Yuuri is just shocked. That's all. Nothing else has happened.'

 ' Really?' Yakov snapped. ' All the other kids look like they have seen a ghost. Whatever. Help him up this instant! Well, hello everyone. I am Yakov Feltsman. Welcome to my camp. Since you are all selected to be here and are the best of the best, naturally, I expect only the best from you. Misbehaviour will NOT be tolerated. Understood? Good. Now, your mentoring skaters will be talking to you. It's a free day today, so you will be able to do whatever you want. Your mentoring skaters can take you sightseeing around the area or you can choose to practice. Come back before 6 and we will have dinner here.' 

 Older skaters in red or blue Russian team jackets flooded into the stadium. Denis growled. 

 Evgenia nudged at Mila, ' I am assigned to you. That's okay?'

 ' Yep!' Mila nodded brightly.

 ' And... We need to help Yuuri up,' Evgenia gently pushed Yuuri. ' Don't just stand there! Help me.'

 Victor offered Yuuri a hand, ' Yuuuuri? Whoohoo? You still there?'

 Yuuri unfroze at once, his brown eyes darting quickly to the skaters around him and let out a squeak that sounded like a cross between ' hi there ' and 'someone help me' when Victor smiled at him. 

 He was inwardly shaking when he took Victor and Evgenia's hands. Just a day ago, he was still fanboying over the latest figure skating magazine (Victor was the cover boy) and now, he was holding the hands of the two best figure skaters in the world.

 ' Sorry,' He mumbled, looking down at the floor, his mind still buzzing from the internal 'apocalypse' he had just now. His face was red, again.

 ' It's okay,' Evgenia sighed. ' Blame Victor. He was being a Drama Queen. Extra and unnecessary.'

 Yeah.  _There is no way Victor would be interested in me,_ Yuuri thought drily.  _Yakov must have put him up to it or it was just a lucky-_

 ' What? I was just excited to see Yuuri,' Victor argued. ' I have been looking forward to seeing him since February.' 

 Forget about it.

 ' Hah?!' Yuuri clutched at his chest, threatening to collapse again.

 ' Woah, be careful there,' Evgenia grabbed his arm. ' He really is a die-hard fan, Victor. I haven't seen a dedicated fan like this since your fan club meet last year.'

 ' Really? What happened?' Mila asked.

 ' Don't actually remember much of it,' Victor furrowed his brow in an effort to remember. ' Er... I think a lot of girls were lying on the floor.' 

 ' They have  _fainted,'_ Evgenia corrected. 

 ' Eurgh,' Yuri made a face. Victor frowned at the kid.

 ' Yura,' Evgenia remembered. ' Aren't you supposed to be with the beginner's class? Where is the beginner's class?'

 ' It got cancelled,' Yuri said, and he snarled at all of them, ' I can't believe it. The Old Man is Yuuri number 2's m-m...'

 ' Mentor?' Evgenia suggested.

 ' Mentor. Yes.'

 '  _Excuse you_ , kid, I'm seventeen and I am not old,' Victor's eyes widened incredulously. Yuuri, who had calmed down enough, was watching the event unfold like a tennis match.

 ' You are old,' The kid insisted. ' Because you've got grey hair.'   

 Victor's hands flew to his head and he let out a shrill shriek, ' IT'S PLATINUM, FYI! NOT GREY! THERE IS A FINE LINE BETWEEN GREY AND PLATINUM. LEARN YOUR COLOURS, BOY!'

 ' Not much of a difference to me,' Yuri said, sticking his tongue out rudely. Mila giggled. 

 It was obvious that Victor was pretty defensive towards his hair colour and age. Yuuri allowed himself to smile weakly.

 ' Why, you-' 

 Evgenia coughed into her hand, ' Erm, I hate to interrupt on the little talk about your hair colour, Vitya, but I believe we should be moving. All the skaters are gone.' Sure enough, they were the only ones left on the ice.

 ' Of course!' Victor grabbed Yuuri's arm (*SCREAM*) and Yuuri tried hard not to jump several yards away from his idol because he was still extremely alarmed. ' I want to show Yuuri around!'

 ' Actually,' Evgenia curled a strand of hair around her ear. ' I've shown him around the rink already. He arrived early with Madame Baranovskaya.'

 ' Lilia?' Victor repeated. ' You know Lilia?'

 ' Errr... My ballet teacher used to be Madame Lilia's student,' Yuuri stuttered (his mind sang, '  You are talking to your idol!!!') timidly.

 ' Ohh, you do ballet? This is why your step sequences are so good,' Victor said thoughtfully. ' I've watched all of your videos. You inspired me.'

 Yuuri fought down a gasp, his face reddening in alarming rate again. HIS IDOL HAD WATCHED HIS SKATING VIDEOS?! THE CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR BEGINNER FIGURE SKATERS?! THE LOCAL FIGURE SKATING TROPHY?! AND HIS PRETTY AWFUL RENDITION OF FÜR ELISE WHERE HE FELL HORRIBLY ON HIS TOE LOOP? AND WHEN HE CRIED (it was ugly sobbing, actually) IN THE MEDAL CEREMONY? 

 This was so humiliating. He wanted to dig a hole in the ice and just lie down there forever. He had no idea whether the freaking god of ice skating was being sarcastic or not. 

 Evgenia came to the rescue again, ' I haven't showed him the gardens yet. We can do that later. But I think we should go for lunch? I'm hungry. Same old place? The borscht place that you are obsessed with?' 

 ' Can I go?' Mila asked.

 ' Sure. I can talk to Madame Stepanycheva. She won't mind,' Evgenia said. ' Come with me.'

 ' Can I go too?' Yuri said. 

 ' Alright, Yura. We can go find Mr. Orlovsky too. Vitya, let's meet up outside the rink 15 minutes later. You two should, er, learn more about each other,' Evgenia took Yuri's hand. She was the very image of a gentle sister. 

 Yuuri squeaked again, when he was left on the rink with Victor. 

 Victor turned to Yuuri, winking, ' I don't think we have properly introduced each other yet. Let's do it. I'm Victor Nikiforov and I am your mentoring skater of the month, nice to meet you.' 

 ' I... I am Katsuki Yuuri! I am a huge fan of yours,' He bowed low, his face still burning like mad, and shook Victor's hand.

 ' Now... Yuuri...' Victor skated closer to him, that their faces were extremely close. Yuuri was in freak out mode. He would probably be running around screaming and flapping his arms like a chicken if he could. But he was rooted to the spot, looking into Victor's beautiful cerulean blue eyes. 

  _HOW SHOULD ONE REACT WHEN ONE'S IDOL WAS SOOOO CLOSE TO HIM?!!!!!!_

 ' Since we will be spending time with each other, you should tell me about yourself,' Victor said charmingly. ' What kind of rink do you skate in? What kind of expectations do you have for your career? Do you have a crush on someone? Before we start our training, we should learn more about each other and develop a solid friendship.' 

 HE WAS WAY TO CLOSE!!!!!!!!

 Yuuri reacted immediately, and he literally jumped backwards, his face glowing red for the thirtieth time in the same day. 

 ' What?' Victor nearly fell over. ' Yuuri, why are you running away?' 

 ' Uhhhh,' Yuuri yelped, regaining his balance and gestured around him wildly. ' No reason! No reason at all! Eh, it's about time, isn't it? Let's go to the entrance and wait for Evgenia!' 

 He skated as fast as he could towards the entrance, leaving Victor rather hurt and confused. 

 ***

 Lunch was... A rather awkward occasion.

 The borscht with sour cream and beef was delicious, but Yuuri was finding it hard to eat, with an entire table of famous figure skaters squabbling around. Mila had her face covered in soup while she was busy telling a tale of how she lifted the bullies into the air, and Evgenia mopped at her face with a napkin. Yuri snarled, mashing his food around on the plate. He screamed 'HELL NO' (again, no idea where he picked this up)

 And Victor... Was being too enthusiastic, and tried to talk to him.

 The reality had sunken in and Yuuri was still in denial. He had always put Victor on such a high pedestal, because he was the Living Legend of Russia. He was supposed to be the untouchable god of figure skating, the next Olympic gold medalist and most successful skater in human history. There was no way he would be interested in an amateurish figure skater like him, when he had never participated in major competitions like the JGP or JWC. He hadn't even made his debut in the Japanese Nationals.

 He had expected Victor to pick someone like the famous Jean-Jacques Leroy, Diego Aguado, Jack Chen or even the Russian kids because they looked like a big deal.

 He mumbled incoherently and focused on his food. Evgenia obviously sensed his uneasiness, so she tried to shatter the awkwardness by telling a silly tale of last year's GPF banquet, where a figure skater nearly drowned in the punch bowl. 

 After lunch, the ice rink wasn't occupied, except for a couple junior skaters trying to figure out their choreography with coaches and beginner skaters lazily fooling around.

 So Victor showcased his Quad Salchow and Evgenia attempted a Triple Axel for the young skaters. Yuri announced ambitiously that he would be training up a Double Axel soon. Mila said she would like to try Quads in the future. And Yuuri was just wowing, acting like a fanboy and taking photos for Yuuko, Takeshi and future reference.

 ' The dorm rooms should be set up,' Evgenia said, after demonstrating a perfect Triple Lutz Triple Toe combination on Yuuri's request. ' We are all staying here.'

 ' My room is next to yours!' Victor announced cheerfully. 

 ' What?!' Yuuri shrieked, freaking out again. ' Staying here?'

 ' Yes, for the camp experience and all the stuff,' Evgenia shrugged. ' We all have our own apartments, but we have agreed to stay. Mila lives with her parents nearby, and they have allowed her to stay overnight.'

 ' I have to go home with Coach Yakov,' Yuri said. ' I live with him.'

 ' You live with Coach Yakov?!' Yuuri asked.

 ' Yura's grandfather knew Coach Yakov,' Evgenia explained. ' But his mother and grandfather live in Moscow, so he has to live with Yakov.'

 ' He's a neat freak,' Yuri complained. ' He won't let me keep a cat.'

 ' Oh, he's better than Lilia,' Victor shook his head. 

 ***

Dinner, again, was awkward. The ‘campers’ ate at one table while the national team skaters sat at the other.

He was trying to avoid Victor’s gaze, because the Russian skater kept looking at his direction.

He had absolutely no idea why Victor Nikiforov would be so interested in him all of a sudden, and he was panicking, hard. 

 He imagined Victor Nikiforov to be calm, cool and collected on and off the ice, but actual reality was a lot different. He was a lot friendly than he had expected. A little bit too friendly for Yuuri's fragile fanboy heart. 

Well, he used to fantasize meeting his idol all day long while hugging his toy poodle. He would ask for an autograph, a photo and thank him for bringing him to figure skating. Of course Victor Nikiforov would give him an autograph and maybe their relationship would stay strictly professional, if Yuuri were to skate against him in the future.

But he didn’t expect Victor to be following him like… A fan boy? No way! Victor would never be anyone’s fan boy. He was at the top of the world! He had his own fan club! Every junior figure skater looked up to him like he was a god!

And he was a nobody.

The looks of loathing from Denis and his sidekicks probably said so.

Yakov told them all to return to their rooms after finishing their hot chocolate and Yuuri didn’t stick around to chat.

He ran to his room (thank god Evgenia told him his room number before dinner) and slammed the door behind him. Finally. He could breathe.

The room was nice. There was a comfortable looking bed, a small writing desk and a vase of pale purple flowers. The bathroom was decent. He would have to get used to the shower.

He jumped onto the bed, let out all his emotions (the panicking fan boy part) and screamed into the pillow. Hopefully the walls could blot out the noise. The last thing he needed would be Victor barging in and he would be freaking out all over again.

He trembled, wedged out his phone from his belongings and dialed his mother’s number before realizing that it was probably midnight in Japan.

‘ Ara,’ His mother’s warm voice said over the phone. ‘ Yuuri? How are you doing? Is St.Petersburg nice? What are you doing right now?’

He shrieked into his phone about how he was paired up with his idol and how he was still freaking out.

‘ Oh,’ His mother said after a long pause. ‘ The Victor? Is that the one you named Vicchan after? And the one whose face you plastered all over your walls?’ He could hear Vicchan’s delighted barks in the background.

‘ Mommmm you are not helping,’ Yuuri whined.

‘ This is good news for you, isn’t it?’ Hiroko sounded confused. ‘ You don’t sound very happy.’

‘ I am happy!’ Yuuri said quickly. ‘ But he’s the Living Legend of Russia! He’s like a god! There’s no way he would be interested in me. He’s too good for me.’

Hiroko sighed, ‘ Oh, Yuuri. You don’t have to put him on such a high pedestal all the time! He might be a figure skating champion and is at the top of the world, yes, but he is a teenager, just like you. It is lonely and anxious up at the top and he needs some fun and friends. This is why he is going after you. Try and give him a chance. Talk to him. You’ll realize he isn’t as untouchable as you think.’

‘ It’s still pretty scary!’ Yuuri fretted. ‘ He’s VICTOR NIKIFOROV, for heaven’s sake.’

‘ You have a month. That’s a lot of time. Make new friends and enjoy yourself.’

He ended the call after asking about Mari and Vicchan. He flopped onto his bed. He should probably get some rest if he might be having a heart attack the next day.

***

   ‘ Zhenyaaaaa… Yuuri is ignoring me!’ Victor wailed. ‘ Do you think he hates me?’

Evgenia looked up from her paper back novel, ‘ Nonsense. He likes you. Wait, I don't think it covers it anymore. He kind of worships you a little. It's cute.’

They were hanging out at the break room with extra large mugs of hot chocolate. Yakov had already gone home with Yuri in tow. Mila had gone back to her room. 

‘ But he doesn’t talk to me!’ He said tearfully. ‘ He squeaks and avoids me all the time! He ran away from me in the morning. I feel hurt!’

‘ This is because you have been acting like a Drama Queen,’ She looked at him pointedly. ‘ He’s thirteen. I admit he's cute and adorable. You are freaking him out too much.’

‘ No I didn’t! I was just… Excited to see him!’

Evgenia sighed, ‘ Look, I know you like him and stuff. But he has never been to St.Petersburg and is nervous. He doesn't know you have seen his videos and application form. He probably has no idea how extra you are on and off the ice. Denis is probably being a jerk. And you just show up all of a sudden when his feelings are mixed up. Anyone will be terrified! For example, if Brad Pitt suddenly shows up in my home, I will FREAK!!!’

 ' But it wasn't like I showed up at practice  _naked_. Actually, what a wonderful idea! Maybe-'

 ' VICTOR NIKIFOROV DON'T YOU DARE,' Evgenia shrieked. 

 Victor deflated.

 She set down her book on the table, ' It's still the first day. Give him some time. Get to know him more tomorrow, do it properly, please. None of your theatrics. Save that for later when he warms up to you.'

 ' Fineeee.' 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter is messy. I'm just channelling how I will feel if my own idol shows up at my place or something. 
> 
> This is most likely how I will react. XDDD
> 
> Next chapter: Some Victor and Yuuri bonding and they will get to know each other (once Yuuri calms down)


	5. Flubbing?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, we have anxious Yuuri, concerned skaters and confused Victor. The events in these few chapters will most likely parallel with ep 3-4, where Yuuri kind of struggles to prove himself.

  There was a sound like a cannon blast, and Yuuri fell out of bed. 

 Someone was knocking persistently on his door. He glanced at the wrist watch (he somehow wore it to bed), it was still 6. What the heck?

 He put on a jacket, and opened the door to find Victor freaking Nikiforov with his award winning smile. At 6 o' clock in the morning, he was already dressed in his training gear (the standard blue, red and white team jacket) and his silver hair tied up in a high ponytail. 

 He looked like he was straight out of a photo shoot and Yuuri thought he would faint. Or he was pretty close to fainting again.

 He mustered enough courage to say, ' What are you doing here?'

 Victor's face split into a thousand-watt smile that could probably light up the entire rink, ' Wake you up for training, of course! What else?'

 ' But it's 6,' Yuuri faltered. ' Breakfast is at 7 and training begins at 8.'

 ' Yes, but we need to grab the best spot on the ice before it gets crowded! We can have the rink to ourselves!' Victor winked. ' No screaming skaters. No murderous coaches. I want to see you skate.'

 ' WHAT,' Yuuri said.

 ' Come on! It's going to be fun! We can grab a little bit of food before we go.'

 ' Fine,' Yuuri mussed his hair, which was already extremely messy seeing that he just got out of bed.

 ' I'll wait outside!' Victor promised.

 Yuuri closed the door behind him, and unbeknownst to him, Victor was hyperventilating because he had finally got Yuuri to talk to him without fainting.

 He opened the door again five minutes later, in his sportswear and his skate bag under an arm. 

 Obviously they were the only ones awake, because the corridors were empty. Victor got them granola bars from the break room, and Yuuri munched on a bit of it before lacing up his skates and going on the ice. The rink wasn't empty. It was occupied by a girl on the ice.

 ' Oh, of course,' Victor mumbled to himself. ' Anya is always early. And if Anya is here... Then...'

 ' Anya?' Yuuri asked curiously. The girl's curly dark hair was unbound and she was wearing dark red lipstick. Yuuri could tell from the distance. 

 ' Yes, Anya Dobrovolskaya, a Junior ice dancer. She got third at the Junior Russian Nationals this year,' Victor explained. ' Do you recognise her?'

 ' Maybe...?' Yuuri said, thinking _ah right._ He might have seen this girl once or twice in the Russian figure skating magazines. 

 ' She likes being early. Her partner is... More of a laid-back person, I think. Oh... Georgi. I thought you would be here,' Victor nodded to his right, and Yuuri only realised there was another person leaning on the side of the rink because he was so quiet. A boy that looked around Victor's age, and his hair was styled in a quiff, Yuuri noticed.

 ' This is Georgi Popovich, my fellow rink mate. Shared the podium with me for two times at the Nationals,' Victor introduced him to Yuuri. ' And Georgi, this is Katsuki Yuuri.'

 Yuuri said hello. Georgi mumbled hi.

 ' Of course he would ditch his little skater for Anya,' Victor muttered under his breath. ' Let's do some stretching.' 

 ' What is he doing here? Isn't he going to skate?' Yuuri whispered to Victor confusingly.

 ' No, he isn't skating. He's watching Anya. He does this every single day,' Victor answered quietly. ' Umm, he has a crush on her.' 

 ' Really? But isn't this a bit creepy?' Yuuri asked, concerned. 

 ' Georgi is a creep and a mysterious person, alright. Everyone knows. Anya knows that,' Victor shrugged. ' They just pretend he isn't here. It's like an inside joke, really.' He raised his voice, ' доброе утро, Аня!' 

' Доброе утро, Виктор,' She glanced at Victor and went back to her skating. 

 ' Right,' Victor planted his hands on his hips. ' So, I want you to show me whatever jumps you can do. You can do the Double Axel, да? You said it is your favourite jump.'

 ' Erm, yes,' Yuuri squirmed. He felt like he was walking on a plank. Victor would judge him hard if he messed up.

 Victor gestured briefly at the patch of ice in front of him, motioning him to go ahead.

 ' What, now?' Yuuri squeaked. 

 ' да,' Victor nodded. 

 ' But...'

 ' Come on, Yuuri! You can do it,' Victor urged him with a smile. ' Believe in yourself.'

 Yuuri sighed, skated several laps to gain speed, and did a perfect Double Axel. He breathed hard, thanking god that he didn't mess up. 

  ' Good, good,' Victor seemed impressed. ' You  _are_ talented. Good. Very impressive. I believe you are ready for the Triple Axel.'

  ' WHAT?' Yuuri clutched at his face.

 ' Yeah, I am 100% serious,' Victor scraped the ice chips off his blades. ' This is what I am supposed to do as your mentoring skater. You've got most of the Triple jumps down already, right? But you haven't tried the Axel yet. Why is that?'

 ' Because... I don't think I can do it?' Yuuri blushed. ' Most people can't do it. I most definitely can't. I am not as good as they are.'

 ' Nonsense!' Victor said loudly, and Anya flashed him a weird look. ' You can. I am 101% sure you can do a Triple Axel before any of the skaters in this camp can. Your Double Axel is the best out of them all. Don't say that you are not as good as they are. You are by far the most talented of them all.' 

 Yuuri seemed taken back by Victor's little outburst, before his face turned as red as a tomato again. He must be dreaming. No way his idol would think of him this highly.

 Victor promised. ' I can't teach you Quads, because Yakov will have my head if I do that. But I WILL be teaching you the Triple Axel. Right... I can give you a demonstration.' He did a Triple Axel from spread eagle position. Yuuri fidgeted.

 ' See? It isn't too hard.'

 ' But you are Victor Nikiforov,' He murmured. ' Nothing is hard for you.' 

 Victor wouldn't take no for an answer, and under his guidance, Yuuri did the first Triple Axel in his life. Without falling.

 ' See? I told you. You are born to do Axels,' Victor said cheerfully, when Yuuri's skate touched the ice successfully after three and a half rotations. ' You are talented. You can definitely do this without a problem at your exhibition.' 

 ' My exhibition. WHAT?!' Yuuri screamed again. 

 ' Yes, an exhibition,' Victor repeated. ' There will be an exhibition at the end of camp, so I need to get you a program. We can choreograph it together. We need a good program that can show off your talent in doing step sequences. Oh... I think the Russian Sports channel will be filming it. And there is a world-wide viewing.'

 Yuuri looked like a reindeer with headlights and fled the rink again.   

 ' Yuuri!' Victor called after him, frustrated. Yuuri had left him again. 

 But that was probably the longest conversation he had with him.

 He was getting there.

 Hopefully. 

 ***

 Yuuri slammed his skate guards onto his blades and raced into the hallways. He ran to the direction of the break room, looking over his shoulder to see if Victor was following him.

 No. 

 Thank god. 

 He screamed into his hands. He had no idea there was going to be an exhibition. He absolutely didn't sign up for this in the first place. 

 He was most definitely going to embarrass himself in front of everyone... And Victor had such high expectations for him, too.

 ' Yuuri? What are you doing out here?' 

 He nearly jumped out of his skin, to realise that it was just Evgenia. She seemed to have just woken up, her hair in a messy fishtail braid and she was holding Mila's hand. 

 ' Umm. Practice?'

 ' You look like you've seen a ghost,' Evgenia frowned, jumping from 'just awake' mode into 'big sis' mode. ' Was it Victor? Is he being difficult again?'

 Mila piped innocently, ' Is he naked?'

 ' Mila!' Evgenia said, horrified, when Yuuri's jaw dropped again. ' No way. He isn't naked, is he?!'

 ' NO,' Yuuri flushed again. ' He's fine. Nothing has happened.'

 ' Doesn't look like it,' Mila sang.

 Evgenia asked sternly, ' Have you eaten breakfast?'

 ' Hah? I had a bit of granola.'

 ' No way. You need a full breakfast. Come here,' Evgenia said. ' You MUST try the Блины.' 

 ***

  Блины, or blini, turned out to be thin, plain pancakes that looked like crepes. He spotted Evgenia adding butter on her portion, so he followed suit. He had never eaten anything quite like this, and he enjoyed it immensely. 

 There was gigantic pot of tea standing at the centre, but there was no sugar in sight, except for a bowl of fresh strawberry jam. He blinked twice when Mila spooning a generous dollop of jam into her own cup. 

 ' You put jam in tea?' He asked. 

 ' Yep, want some?' She toothily offered him the bowl of jam.

 ' Uhhh, I think I'll pass,' He felt a little queasy. He preferred plain Japanese green tea for breakfast and actually missed it. 

 Mila laughed, ' Not everyone likes jam in tea. They find us strange. My parents and I love it.' 

 Groggy-eyed skaters started to enter the break room at that point, brightening at the sight of food. Denis and his sidekicks were snarling as usual, trying to find their newest victim. And Georgi was finally able to leave Anya in peace to join them for breakfast. Victor trailed behind him. Evgenia shot him an evil look.

 Yakov entered the room with little Yuri scowling behind him, ' Good morning. I hope you all enjoy the food.'

 The skaters murmured their versions of 'good morning'.

 Yakov said gruffly. ' By the way, there will be an exhibition at the end of camp, so naturally, you'll need a program. A standard Free Skate program.'

 The skaters chattered amongst each other excitedly. And now Yuuri had calmed down enough, he thought... Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he thought? If he did well... Maybe the JSF would take notice of him. He would be able to participate in the JSF once he reached the age limit.

 He was starting to accept that Victor had chosen him out of all the skaters (Evgenia was kind enough to remind him again). He had no idea what Victor saw in him, but he'd hate to disappoint Victor. 

 ' Today, we will be working on some jumps, so the senior skaters will know what to do with you. Go to the rink when you are done with breakfast. Senior skaters, stand at the side.'

 The older skaters nodded obediently.

 Yuuri groaned. He was so going to get embarrassed.

 ***

 Victor helped clear out the breakfast tables with the other Russian skaters, while the Junior skaters started to move out.

 Alexei, the bronze medalist of the Junior Russian Nationals, asked Victor, ' Who's the kid you picked anyways? He is so quiet. A little bit too quiet.'

 The other skaters nodded sympathetically.

 Victor asked coldly, taking the wrong message, ' What are you implying?'

 Alexei flushed, ' Not that I have anything against him, of course, but... I was thinking... You were going to get someone a little bit more... Um...'

 ' Flashy?' Sofia offered. 

 ' Extra?' Evgenia snorted. 

 ' Or noisy, like Denis,' Konstantin sighed depressingly (he was assigned to Denis). ' That kid seriously doesn't know when to shut up. He has been blabbering about how cool he is ALL DAY LONG. I don't think he's pleased that I am going to be mentoring him.'

 ' Wasn't he cornering that Yuuri yesterday?' Pyotr snapped. ' Keep an eye on Denis, Konstantin, bro. Little Yuuri is anxious. Especially in the presence of the great and almighty Victor Nikiforov.' 

 Lidiya winced, ' I would also keep an eye on Yuuri if I were you. Don't mean to be harsh or anything, but he's going to get stressed since you picked him. He's going to want to prove himself. Poor kid.'

 Victor knew his rink mates didn't have any ill intent towards Yuuri (they were genuinely concerned, maybe) but they made it sound like it was his fault he picked Yuuri in the first place. He scowled, and placed the rest of the dishes in the sink.

 When they were done, they got into the rink just in time to see Yakov say, ' We will be doing something simple. The Toe Loop. Everyone has to do it, and you can do a Single, Double or Triple Toe Loop. No Quads, please. I don't think any of you can do it anyways.'

 Victor bit on his thumb. Yuuri looked like he was really to drop any second. 

 Denis smirked, and he volunteered to do a Triple Toe Loop. He succeeded of course, and Konstantin made a 'tsk' sound. 

 Next, a cute little girl stepped up to do a Double Toe Loop. 

 As more and more skaters volunteered to do the jumps, Yuuri went paler and paler. 

 Victor didn't understand. Yuuri was able to do a Triple Axel just now, and a Toe Loop wouldn't be hard, right? Why would he be this anxious? He really wanted to scream and tell Yuuri to believe in himself. 

 ' I worry about Yuuri,' Evgenia murmured. ' I have a feeling he flubs jumps whenever he has something on his mind.'

 Almost all the skaters were done, and Yakov turned to Yuuri, ' Well, Katsuki Yuuri. Please go ahead.'

 The Junior skaters muttered amongst themselves.

 ' This is the boy Victor is going to mentor.'

 ' Who is he?'

 ' Is he good? I mean, Victor chose him. He should be good.'

 ' Looks like a loser to me,' Denis just scoffed, and Yuuri squeaked. 

  He fell on his Toe Loop, of course. Denis actually had the nerve to laugh. Victor really wanted to jump across the ice and punch him in the face (' HOW DARE HE LAUGH AT MY YUURI?!' ). Yuuri got up shakily from the ice, squeaked again. 

 The other skaters just looked at him. Some of them were evidently disappointed and the others were like, dude, seriously? 

 Yakov said, his tone unusually gentle, ' It's okay. People make mistakes all the time.'

 ' Are you okay?' Mila asked worriedly, tugging at Yuuri's jacket sleeve. 

 He started to lecture them on how they should do Toe Loops and their common mistakes, and Victor noted (he was hurt) that Yuuri kept his head down for the entire time. 

  _Why is Yuuri this anxious?_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nurufufufufufufufufu
> 
> Next chapter: Victor phones Minako because he is too worried


	6. Minako-sensei to the rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *dies under a pile of math*
> 
> *writes stuff to relax*

 It was break time for the senior skaters, and they filed out of the rink, muttering about the junior skaters' performances. Evgenia nodded stiffly at him. Sofia patted him on the back sympathetically. Pyotr and Georgi were looking mournfully at him. 

  _What_ , he wanted to say.  _I am as confused as you are. Not my fault!_

Sure, Denis was an insufferable little devil (even more so than the Yuri kid who dared question his hair colour of all things), but he didn't see why Yuuri would take his remarks this seriously. He was talented (cute)! Why wouldn't he see himself that way? Heck, he was able to do a Triple Axel at the age of 13! Victor himself wasn't able to land a clean Triple Axel until he was 14! Most skaters that could do impressive Quads couldn't do a Triple Axel! 

 He probably shouldn't ask Yuuri himself. The last thing he needed would be Yuuri crying at him because he had the impression that he had the world's biggest 'glass heart'. He would jump off a building in guilt if he made Yuuri cry.

 Victor resisted the urge to bash his head on the wall. 

 How would he ever find out? How would he ever help Yuuri gain some more confidence in himself?

 A glorious stroke of inspiration dawned on him like a lightning bolt. 

 He raced to the locker room, nearly knocking Georgi out of the way (he was mooning over Anya again) and seized his laptop. Thank god he had his laptop with him and it still had enough battery.

 Flipping open the lid of his laptop, Victor went to his documents to find Yuuri's information. At the contact information, he found the phone number of his guardian/coach. At least he thought it was his coach. The information said the lady was a retired professional ballerina. Minako Okukawa. 

 He swallowed. At a young age of 8, he had understood that ballerinas were so much more than young ladies in tutus and cream coloured ballet shoes (kindergartens were teaching it _wrong_ ). They could be strong and bold. He learnt to fear ballerinas and to cower under Lilia Baranovskaya's hard gaze whenever she stopped by the rink. 

 He might be signing his death warrant by coming into contact with a ballerina, but he knew he was doing it for Yuuri. 

 Hopefully she would be merciful. 

 He dialled the number on his phone, figuring out that he would need to pay for an international call. The woman answered quickly, with a Japanese greeting.

 ' Umm, English?' He asked timidly. ' Are you Minako Okukawa sensei?' He added the 'sensei' as an afterthought, because he wanted to make a good impression and mostly because he didn't want her to blow him into smithereens. 

 There was a pause, and the woman answered in perfect English, no less, ' Yes I am. And you are...?'

 ' Victor Nikiforov, the... er, figure skater,' He said, feeling pretty stupid.

 There was another pause, longer this time. Minako sighed into the receiver, ' Right. I told him you are going to be there and I am right! This is crazy, I am actually talking to his idol. They'll be telling me that the Mariinsky Ballet wants me to come out of retirement next.' 

 He blinked. That wasn't the reaction he had expected to receive.

 ' Well... I was just kidding, of course. Are you calling to tell me that Yuuri has fainted in your presence? Not much of a surprise, you know. He's a big fan of you. So what's up, Nikiforov? Has something happened to Yuuri? I thought you guys are only supposed to call me during emergencies.'

 ' It's not exactly an emergency. I just want to ask a question. As his mentoring skater, I should know more about him.'

 ' Hm? Ask away.' 

 ' Does he get anxious all the time?' 

 ' Yes. He does. Ah, I ought to have asked Lilia-senpai to notify you guys.'

 _' Lilia-senpai?'_  He asked incredulously, wilting into his seat.

 Minako sounded amused, ' Yes, Madame Lilia Baranovskaya. You should know her. He is your coach's ex-wife. She was my teacher when I danced for the Bolshoi Ballet as a student. She was still the prima back then. So, Yuuri has been acting anxious? You are wondering why?'

 ' Yes. I saw him skate and he is extremely talented. He has a lot of potential. He might overtake me someday, if he works hard enough. He has just done his first Triple Axel in the morning, but now, he is flubbing all of his jumps at Yakov's session.' 

 ' Let me guess. The other kids are watching him in this session? Older kids? Younger kids?'

 ' Um, both?'

 ' And there are some jerks amongst them. Correct?'

 ' Eh, yes? What does that mean?'

 Minako said, ' Well... Let me tell you. Yuuri has been used to skating on his own whenever he gets anxious. His home rink lets him skate anytime if it isn't booked already. Or he spends most of his time in my ballet studio. He isn't used to the others watching him perform so he's pretty susceptible to stress.' 

 ' But... doesn't he have any friends?' 

 ' He has two. Yuuko and Takeshi. He has never been good at making friends. He doesn't really put himself out there. His school friends sometimes laugh at him for taking up activities like ballet and figure skating. They think he's a weakling and a runt. So he's extremely self-conscious. He has always been self-conscious.' 

 ' Ohh,' Victor said, realisation dawning on him. ' How dare they!' He was cross. He had no idea Yuuri was having so much trouble. 

 ' He isn't a Katsuki for nothing. He really hates losing. He doesn't like to appear weak to anyone. This is why I sent him to this camp. I want him to become more confident in himself if he is going to pursue a career of competitive figure skating, and you, Victor, will have to bring that side out of him.'

 Victor frowned, ' You knew I was going to be there?' _Are you a fortune teller or something? Jeez, ballerinas never cease to surprise me._

' Nope. I was hoping an outsider that isn't his parents, Yuuko,Takeshi or myself could do the job, but I didn't exactly expect the person to be you. I was also expecting a call,' Minako popped the 'p'. ' It's better, though. You can encourage Yuuri.'

 ' It isn't working that well,' Victor whined desperately. ' He is hiding from me.'

 ' He'll open up to you eventually. Hey, you are his lifelong idol and inspiration. There's no way he'll be hiding from you forever,' Her light, playful tone became serious. ' Well, I was just kidding. I really hope you can hammer some confidence into him with your idol magic. But wait. You aren't serious, are you? He has no friends except you?'

 ' A few. He only speaks to Evgenia, and Mila.'

 ' Ooh, Evgenia Vasilieva? Nice. I like that girl. She's ever so polite and humble in interviews. Well... Good luck! I hope you understand him more now that your questions are answered. This is all I can do for you. Don't let the bullies get him, humph.'

 ' Oh, someone will take care of them. I will, if I could,' He said darkly, the image of Mila valiantly kicking the bullies forming in his mind.

 ' Here's a tip from me. Talk to him. Alone.'

 ' I tried,' Victor said helplessly. ' But he always runs away from me.'

 ' Find a quiet place. Shame you don't have an ocean nearby. Yuuri always likes to sit by the Hasetsu ocean with Vicchan-'

 ' Vicchan?'

 ' The poodle- Wow. Whoops. I said too much. Forget about it. Erm... Find somewhere quiet and talk to him. The nature calms him and he is a lot less jittery.'

 ' Good. Call me if you have updates,' Minako said. ' If you don't, I will do an arabesque in your face. Just kidding! Bye, Nikiforov.'

 Victor put down his phone. He should probably talk to Yuuri and he had better succeed too, because an arabesque in his face sounded painful. 

 An ocean? He couldn't just sneak out with Yuuri to the ocean. The garden will have to do. It was quiet enough, and Victor always sat there on his own to calm his nerves before major competitions.

 Wait. Did Minako mention a poodle? 

 Poodles - the most noble creatures to ever walk on the earth that radiated adorableness and positive energy.

 Makkachin would do just fine. 

***

 Trying to make Yuuri talk to him was harder than he had thought. 

 ' Yuuri, do you want to look for your program music?'

 ' Um, not now. Later.' 

 ' Yuuri, do you want to get some snacks at the break room?'

 ' Uh, I'm not hungry. I'll pass.'

 ' Yuuri, let's go find that smol Yuri kid!'

 ' Um, I need to talk to Evgenia for advice.'

 The rest of the Russian skaters eyed him with pity. 

 ' Keep going, Victor bro,' Konstantin muttered.

 Victor gave him a dirty look.

 Just before lunch, he disappeared from the rink, returned with his beloved poodle Makkachin and nearly gave Yakov an aneurism when he was about to get out of the rink to replenish the grocery stock in the break room. 

 ' NO PETS AT THE RINK,' Yakov bellowed. ' I TOLD YOU MANY TIMES-'

 ' Emergency,' Victor gave Makkachin a belly rub, and the poodle barked excitedly at the coach.

 ' WHAT EMERGENCY.'

 ' He's my emergency wingman,' Victor said shamelessly. ' Mr. Makkachin the Great.'

 ' Your emergency wing... WHAT?!' Yakov screamed, very close to tearing out his hair. 

 ' Wish we could talk for longer, but can't stick around to chat. Byeeee! Come on, Makka!' Victor sang, and Makkachin followed him enthusiastically, tail wagging.

 There wasn't actually a rule of no pets allowed in the rulebook of the rink. The other coaches didn't really mind, because Makkachin was like a ray of sunshine. But Yakov threw a tantrum and banned Victor from bringing Makkachin to practice, before literally all of the skaters were too busy sneaking Makkachin treats to train. Sofia and Pyotr completely abandoned training to pet him. 

 Yakov and all the other coaches flipped out when all of their skaters abandoned their spots on the rink

 Makkachin was that cute. 

 The skaters were having lunch, and Mila was the first to spot Makkachin. 

 ' MAKKA!!!' She squealed, and all the senior skaters turned at once.

 ' MAKKAAAA!!!' 

 To the junior skaters' confusion, the normally mature Russian team immediately ran over to pet the dog, screaming like little children on a playground. Makkachin rolled around on the floor, enjoying the attention and comfortable belly rubs.

 Denis growled, unaffected by the poodle's 'adorable' energy.

 Yuuri swallowed, most probably thinking about his poodle back at home. 

  _Right,_ _Yuuri,_ Victor thought silently, narrowly avoiding Alexei because the older skater was trying to punch his fellow skaters in the face when someone stepped on his foot.  _I know how much you like poodles._

 ' Owwww, stop it Alexei!' He said aloud. ' Right! Yuuri! Let's not eat here! Let's go outside.'

 Attention fell on Yuuri again and he gulped uncomfortably, ' Er, why?'

 ' Because, I don't like this place,' Victor said, bending down into the sea of enthusiastic skaters to get his poodle's attention. 

 Yuuri squirmed, ' What's wrong with this place though?'

 ' It's stuffy. Get your sandwich! Away!' Thank god Makkachin got his signal, and followed him. The rest of the skaters groaned in disappointment.

 Yuuri hesitated, looking between Makkachin and Victor. 

  _Please Makka! Give him the puppy eyes!_

' Fine.'

  _Thank you, Makka. Forever my best friend. I am buying you the most expensive doggy treats. To hell with what Yakov thinks. I am not pampering my dog enough!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll be dealing with a little bit of anxiety in the first couple of chapters, and then... We can have happier stuff. :PPP
> 
> Next chapter: They talk.


	7. Dog person

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :PPPPPPPPPP

 Victor had always found the idea of having a garden in the middle of a top notch training facility weird. Apparently it was the previous rink owner's idea, to let skaters relax in the nature. Well, a little bit of the nature. It wasn't a very big garden, and it was just a small area with little trees, flowers and benches.

 But when he was sitting on one of the blue benches with Yuuri, uneaten sandwiches on their laps and Makkachin nuzzling at his feet, he silently thanked the previous rink owner for building this.

 They stayed silent, and Yuuri was suddenly very interested in his sandwich. Makkachin began to scratch restlessly at Victor's paper plate.

 Victor said awkwardly, ' Oh, um, this is my poodle. He's-'

 ' Makkachin! I know!' Yuuri blurted out (told you he would win in a Victor Nikiforov trivia speed contest), and he blushed when Victor raised his eyebrows. ' Oh, um... I've read a lot about him in figure skating magazines. Erm... So... What do you want to talk about?'

 Victor panicked. What should he say next? He had always been bad at words. How was he going to raise Yuuri's self-esteem and let him know the he really acknowledged his skating talents? 

 He cleared his throat, ' Have you ever wondered why I chose you?'

 ' You chose what?' Yuuri said, puzzled.

 ' I chose to mentor you,' Victor said, keeping his plate away from Makkachin, because the poodle was pawing at his food. According to Yakov, Makkachin was obsessed with human food because Victor spoiled him too much. 

 ' Huh? Didn't...' He looked down, colour rushing to his cheeks again. ' I thought Yakov put you up to it. The others said so. It was just a pure coincidence.'

 ' Pah! Coincidence? Of course not! It was embarrassing, really, but the truth is, I didn't want to join this program in the first place. But Yakov, um, kind of forced me to take part and he said I could choose which skater I want to mentor for a change. I read all 50 profiles, and I wanted you. You were the only one that met up with my requirements, and I have insanely high requirements, mind you.'

 Yuuri gaped, ' But... W-why me?' 

 ' I saw all of your videos. Replayed each for 10 times. Broke the replay button. I was drawn to you because of the music. The way you skate like your body is creating music. Yes, the others can jump, but none of them can skate like you. Just the right amount of elegance and beauty,' Victor said earnestly. ' Even Zhenya thinks so.' 

 ' You saw my videos...' Yuuri muttered, and his eyes widened. ' Wait. OH NO. THIS MEANS YOU SAW MY OTHER APPLICATION FORM??????!!!'

 ' Yep,' Victor said cheerfully. ' I did.'

 Yuuri face-palmed himself, ' OH NOOOOOOO. This is so embarrassing, oh my god.' 

 ' No, it's not. It's cute!' Victor beamed. ' I've never met such an adorable and talented fan like you. Don't listen to the others. I  _chose_ you because you inspired me. You earned it yourself because you are good at what you do. 

 ' But I am a weakling,' Yuuri mumbled, still hiding his face behind his hands. ' You should have chosen another skater, like Leroy.'

  _Lord, Minako-sensei, it is going badly! Don't arabesque me in the face! And my heart is breaking!_

Victor snapped, ' Don't talk about yourself that way! You are not weak, Yuuri. No one else thinks that way, at least Evgenia, Mila and I don't think so. Maybe that tiger kid too. You just have to believe in yourself. And no, you don't have to put me on such a high pedestal.'

 ' Victor...' Yuuri's mouth fell open.

 ' I am just a normal skater. You don't need to feel stressed or constricted just because I am mentoring you. I won't walk away from you.'

 ' But you are THE Victor Nikiforov,' Yuuri said, smiling embarrassingly. ' You are the best and you only want the best. You have a lot of gold medals. Anyone will feel stressed.'

 ' Well to hell with my gold medals!' Victor said angrily. ' What do you actually want me to be to you? A father figure?'

 ' No.'

 ' A brother?'

 ' No.'

 ' A friend?'

 ' Hmm...'

 ' Well, whatever. Just treat me like a normal skater that appreciates your skating and really wants to help you. Because, you are talented, adorable, kind and wonderful, even though you haven't realised it yet. You have a lot of potential. Because I might as well have frizzy green hair if you are not talented.'

 Yuuri blinked, overwhelmed by the high praises from his idol and the fact his idol was stepping down from his insanely high pedestal. And Makkachin was nuzzling at his feet this time. 

 ' Feel better?' Victor asked.

 Yuuri blushed, ' Umm... Yeah. I am sorry I ignored you, Victor. I just... Don't want my idol to see my shortcomings. But I'll make it up to you with my skating.'

 Victor grinned, holding out his hand to Yuuri, ' That's the spirit! But I won't let you off that easily, though! And don't ignore me anymore, because I am _hurt_. You wound me, Yuuri!'

 Yuuri took it, smiling sheepishly, ' Sorry. But... Just asking. Why are you care so much? I am just a normal skater. Not many adults really bother with me. At least none of my teachers or classmates did.' 

 The gears worked in Victor's head. Hmmm. He couldn't scream 'because you are adorable and cute and I really want to skate with you forever!!!' because that would definitely freak the kid out. 

 And 'because your scary ballet teacher will arabesque me in the face!' wasn't an option either. 

 So he settled with, ' Because I would very much like to face you in the Grand Prix series some day. You can definitely do it and I really think you will be a tough opponent to beat. Man, I want to coach you if I can.'

 ' COACH?!' Yuuri squeaked in terror.

 ' Naw. I would if I could. But Yakov will kill me,' Victor shrugged. ' Maybe later. For now, I want to help you achieve your goals and get you into the JGP. I want to skate with you.' 

 ' ... Okay.'

 ' That's good. It's about time for your ballet lessons, right? I can take you to Madame Baranovskaya's studio with Makka. And I will have to return to the rink to choreograph my new programs.'

 ' Oh, right! You are choreographing your programs this year!' Yuuri gushed, his fan boy self resurfacing.

 ' Yeah, and once you are back, we will look up the music for your program, okay?'

 Yuuri nodded, and Victor thought his heart would burst. 

  FINALLY!!! 

 ***

 Once they went back to the corridors, they bumped into the very angry Yuri, head to toe in tiger-print again. Even his skate guards were covered in tiger-print stickers. 

 ' Oh my god. Is that a dog?' He grimaced, pointing at Makkachin. Makkachin was almost larger than him.

 Victor said defensively, protecting Makkachin, ' What's wrong with a dog?'

 Yuri made a face, ' I am a  _cat person,_ see?' He pulled at his jacket. ' Cats all the way. Cats rule the world.' 

 ' No way! Dogs rule!' Victor shouted. ' FOREVER!!!' 

 ' Cats are n-n-noble creatures,' Yuri snarled, struggling to find the right word, and gee, his advanced English impressed Yuuri. 

 ' Dude. Dogs are men's best friends,' Victor said. ' Do your research, please.' 

 ' Нет! Cats are more beautiful. They are elegant and graceful.'

 ' Dogs are cute.'

 ' Duh. Cats can be cute too.' 

 ' Yuuuuri!' Victor whined. ' You are a dog person! Save me from this crazy cat!'

 Yuuri decided to stay out of the argument, because Yuri was giving him a Level 10 Glare Supreme™. 

 ' Wise move,' Yuri growled. ' Dog people and cat people don't get along well. Insult cats, and I will claw your face!'

 He stomped away like a mini punk, like he ruled the place.

 ' WHAT THE HECK?! DID HE JUST...' Victor tore at his hair and Yuuri sighed, petting Makkachin.

 With the 'cat-dog' rivalry blossoming between Victor and little Yuri, and an exciting new program ahead of him, the camp was going to be fun after all. 

 Denis and his goons didn't sound that scary anymore.    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to change the Ep 4 seaside conversation because.....  
> This is what actually happened while I was typing this:
> 
> Me: Hmm... So let me try and do a parallel.  
> Victor: A brother, then? A friend?  
> Me: *types that down* Okay.  
> Victor: Then, your boyfriend, I guess.  
> Me: WOAH. That's a bit too early, bro! Yuuri is just 13 years old here! Guess I will have to change it. 
> 
> And I hope it worked. :PPP Idk if it is convincing enough, and I tried to put in a little bit of my own experience into Yuuri's character (yep, I suffer from mild anxiety actually), but yeah. 
> 
> Next chapter: Yuuri goes to Lilia's studio and Victor is terrified


	8. Arabesque

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :DDD

 Lilia Baranovskaya's studio stood proudly in a more affluent neighbourhood, close to the sparkling turquoise coloured river. Makkachin bounded in front of them excitedly, chasing imaginary butterflies alike. 

Victor was terrified to death by the very presence Lilia, but again, he was doing it for Yuuri. Heck, he would do anything to make Yuuri's dream come true, even if it meant that he needed to anger all the ballerinas in the world ( ' Vitya, there is no such thing as ballerinophobia. You are being silly.' ) and run for his life. 

 At the threshold of a particularly elegant looking building, Lilia stood, with her arms crossed over her chest and her lips pursed. 

 ' Yuuri, I have been waiting for you,' She told Yuuri kindly, and then she looked at Victor disdainfully, ' Victor Nikiforov.' One could almost hear the more hostile underlying message of  _my ex-husband's ungrateful student._ Honestly, Victor didn't blame her. Yakov's busy coaching career was the reason why their marriage never worked out, so she had always been rather sour towards his flashy skater students (*cough* himself *cough cough*) Though he reckoned she was slightly fond of Evgenia. 

 Still, he needed to keep his manners. He bowed low, ' Madame Baranovskaya.'

 A tiny red-head popped out from behind Lilia's slim figure, ' Victorrr!!!'

 ' Mila!' Victor said, startled. ' What are you doing here?'

 ' Ballet lesson, duh,' She said. ' Evgenia brought me here ten minutes ago.'

 ' I have no idea you picked ballet lesson,' Victor stared.

 ' Yuuri told me it's going to help with my step sequences, so I signed up in the last minute,' She shrugged, and winked at Yuuri, ' Right?'

 Lilia cleared her throat, ' Six more students will be coming. And since the both of you are early, why don't you get in first? I want to watch Yuuri dance. Nikiforov, you can stay for a few minutes.'

 ' Um, okay, but what about Makkachin?' Victor said, knowing better than to refuse, because if Minako-sensei was capable of doing an arabesque in someone's face, Lilia would most definitely be able to do the same thing.

 ' The poodle can stay in the yard,' She said sternly, pointing at the small yard outside of next to her house. 

 ' Sorry Makka for leaving you here!' He petted his poodle. ' I will be picking you up later.' 

 Lilia sniffed. 

 Her studio was actually her house, and the decor was extremely posh. Everything was mahogany and velvet. He couldn't imagine Lilia living with Yakov. Their tastes in decor were so different.

 She opened the door to the actual ballet studio. Sunlight streamed into the room through wide windows, and Victor had to blink before entering. 

 She made the two of them change into ballet flats, and allowed them to warm-up. 

 ' Now, let's see what Minako has done with you,' She said, and named a bunch of really complicated ballet terms for Yuuri. Victor had absolutely no idea what those meant, but Yuuri twirled on the floor according to her instructions. Mila clapped.

 ' Good and flexible. Minako has taught you well,' Lilia nodded approvingly, after Yuuri demonstrated a perfect arabesque. ' You can improve on some of the moves, but still it's very good. I can see why Yakov thinks you are good at doing step sequences.'

 ' Thank you,' Yuuri said, flushing. 

  _Okay. Yuuri is also capable of doing an arabesque in my face if he wants to. Surprise, surprise._

 ' This is amazing!!!' Mila piped. ' I wish I can dance like you.'

 Lilia addressed Victor, ' Humph, you have good taste. You people had better give him excellent training, or else I will be stealing him to be my protege.' 

  _O-of course! I know a good skater when I see one!!! And noooooo don't take Yuuri away from me._

' Um, Madame,' He said awkwardly. ' If you don't need me anymore, I will leave for my own training. I will erm, pick Yuuri up when I'm done.'

 ' Go ahead, go ahead,' Lilia wasn't pissed at him, which was a first. He flashed Yuuri a thumbs-up, before scrambling out of the studio in case Lilia suddenly changed her mind and started spitting fire in his face.

 ***

 ' Let me get this straight... You earned Yuuri's trust at last?' Evgenia goggled at him. ' Really? This is wonderful!!! You are finally not acting extra, I am so proud of you, Vitya!'

 ' Yep,' Victor had just put his proposed FS music into the system, and he was ready to try out his new program. 

 ' Greattttt. Now you can work on your program,' She skated over to him curiously. ' What song did you pick? Oh? The Swan? I liked that piece, but never tried skating to it.'

 ' Yakov thinks it's okay. So I went with it,' He said.

 ' Yessssss,' Evgenia scrutinised him. ' I can almost imagine your costume. You can get dressed like a swan! White feathers, loads of sparkles, silvery rhinestones, excellent! You, my friend, can be the swan prince!'

 ' I was thinking of blue,' Victor said.

 She shrugged, ' Why not? Blue suits your eyes. We can throw you blue roses to match up with your, er, colour scheme. What's your theme this year?' 

 ' _Seeking for Inspiration_ ,' He announced dramatically.

 Evgenia bursted out laughing, ' Oh, my. You are dedicating your season theme to Yuuri? This is so sweet!!!'

 Victor frowned, ' But Yakov thinks it's extra.'

 ' Oh no it's not,' She giggled. ' Wait till he hears Georgi's. He told me just now. "Beauty of Budding Love". How awesome is that? He's definitely pining after his precious Anya.' They laughed together, imagining Yakov and Anya's outraged expression.

 ' That's quite enough,' She said, wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes. ' Well, aren't you going to show me your program?'

 ' Without the jumps, for now,' Victor did some stretching.

 She smiled, ' Yakov told me you want to ratify a new Quad. Which one do you have in mind?'

 ' The Flip?' he suggested. ' No one has attempted it before, I mean, everyone is going for the Lutz after they nail the Salchow.'

 ' Sure, it's unpredictable. It can be your signature move.' 

  ***

 He returned to Lilia's studio 2 hours later, slightly exhausted after skating his programs and organising the jump composition. Sofia and Pyotr were there too. 

 He had promised Evgenia to pick up Mila for her because she needed to talk to Yakov about her programs. 

  Yuuri seemed to be slightly breathless after the ballet practice, but he was positively beaming. Lilia must have instilled more confidence in him, thank God. Lilia could be very convincing if she wanted to. 

 ' IT'S AWESOMEEEE!!!' Mila said, doing an arabesque on the spot, narrowly kicking Victor in the face (HIS FEAR WAS GOING TO COMING TRUE OH THE HORROR HE NEVER EXCITED TO DIE ON MILA'S HAND). ' I AM FEELING MORE FLEXIBLE!!! I CAN ARABESQUE SOMEONE IN THE FACE!!! MWAHAHA!!!'

 ' Ahhh!' Victor hid behind Yuuri, and Yuuri nearly jumped out of his skin when he grabbed his arm.

 ' One day,' Mila said triumphantly. ' I will be able to lift people into the air as well!'

 ' Wow. Are you switching to pair skating?' Victor teased. 

 ' Nope! I am staying at the Ladies' Singles. But I can lift people into the air as a leisure activity,' Mila said casually. ' I am trying to bug Anya to teach me. Maybe Yuri can be my test subject. He's smaller than I am.'

 The image of a writhing Yuri screaming bloody murder above Mila's head popped up in Victor's mind. He snorted at it.

 ' Come on, you two, Evgenia is waiting,' He said.

 ***

 Victor and Yuuri sat at the break room with a laptop, and they were the only ones.

 ' Okay. We need some ideas. Any particular artist you like? Classical? Modern? I don't like the pop nowadays, they are not so good,' Victor said, tapping on his keyboard. ' You know what, decide on what type of music you would like first. It makes everything easier. Opera? Violins? Orchestral stuff? Instrumental?'

 ' Errr, piano?' Yuuri suggested shyly.

 Victor nodded, ' Uh-huh, why not? Any particular... Composer you like?'

 Yuuri thought for a moment, ' Ummmmm, I don't know that much about classical composers. But I do know Joe Hisashi. He's one of my family's favourites.'

 ' Ohhhh,' Victor said. ' The... Guy that composed the music for Studio Ghibli films? I watched Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and a bunch more. They were good.'

 ' Really?!' Yuuri said excitedly. 

 ' Right, any particular piece you like? Most of his pieces are actually suitable for skating programs. It's entirely up to you.'

 Yuuri pondered for a moment, ' I like Merry Go Round Life from Howl's Moving Castle. Is it okay?'

 ' I don't think I watched that one... So I need to check it out,' Victor quickly typed in the song name on YouTube. 

 They were only seconds into the piece when Victor beamed at him, ' Great! I like it. Let's use it. We are going to make a great program, Yuuri.'

 And when Yuuri smiled at him, Victor felt like he was soaring into the air, because that was how happy he was. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh-huh, I picked The Swan because it matches with Victor's costume. And... Joe Hisashi pieces because I like his music. :333333333 
> 
> AHHHH THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IS NEXT WEEK!!!! :OOOOOOOO I AM NOT READYYYYY XDDDDDD
> 
> Lol just curious, what other animes do you guys watch? For me, I only watched Assassination Classroom (I cried so much), Free! (Who am I supposed to ship lmao), YOI (wheeeeeeee), and a little bit of Erase (it's pretty dark) ahahaha XDDD
> 
> Next chapter: Yurio skates and more shenanigans.


	9. Ladies and Gentlemen. Presenting... Yurio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tfw you realise the voice actor of King JJ is the same guy that voiced Asano and Rin. O.o 
> 
> (My life is a lie)
> 
> ( I can never imagine Asano or Rin going IT'S JJ STYLE) 
> 
> And speaking of which, JJ will be appearing in this chapter... Yuri will be annoyed. 
> 
> Ahaha anyways.... Thanks so much for 300+ kudos and 100+ comments!!! They are very much appreciated!!! *♡*

 The sun was shining. Birds were chirping. The sky was blue. Everything was beautiful.

 This sounded ridiculous, but that was actually what was going on inside Victor's head when he woke up in the morning. Yes!!! He had finally convinced Yuuri to look at him normally, so he would be having a fun day of skating with Yuuri at last! 

 He got dressed quickly in his training wear, ran out of the room to knock on Yuuri's door.

 No one answered.

  _Huh_ , he thought.  _He's still sleeping, or what? Never mind._

He walked out of the dormitory area to the skating rink, hoping to skate several laps before the rest of the kids woke up, and then he realised the beginner's class was having a mini-lesson. And Yuuri, Mila and Evgenia were watching from the side. Those three were almost inseparable, and frankly, Victor was a bit jealous of them. Yuuri might be warming up to him right now, but it seemed like he felt more comfortable next to Mila. 

 No problem. He had a month to figure this out.

 ' Yo,' He said, stepping next to Evgenia. ' What's up?'

 ' Oh, good morning!' Yuuri smiled beautifully at him and Victor almost fainted. 

 ' Yura is skating,' Mila said.

 Sure enough, many tiny kids in baby-sized skates were on the ice, awkwardly doing camel spins. The instructor, a man in his early forties, was helping a girl with her spin, correcting her posture from time to time. Many of them were struggling, Victor noted. Some of them were losing their balance and tottering around, while some of the kids' postures were incorrect.

 Hey, that was good enough for a beginner.

 But far off from the group of kids, Yuri spun on the ice proudly, posture perfect and the camel spin seemingly effortless. He was probably the best in the group, even though he was the youngest. 

 _He is a natural_ , Victor thought grudgingly,  _even though he is a cat person._

 ' He is so _good_ ,' Mila sighed admiringly. 

 The instructor, Coach Olorvsky, looked up to find a bunch of older skaters looking at them, and he called to them in Russian, ' We won't be using up too much of the space! Come in and skate if you want to.'

 ' Thanks,' Evgenia said. ' We will.'

 Victor realised they were already in skates. Crap. 

 ' Uhhhh I need to get my skates!' He announced, and he returned in 20 seconds with his skates.

 The three of them were already on the ice, warming up by doing small jumps and laps around the rink.

 While Victor was skating backwards with Yuuri, he kept his eyes on the small beginner class, because he really wanted to know what little Yuri Plisetsky could do (heck, he was acting all high and mighty). 

 Coach Olorvsky clapped his hands, ' Okay, children! We are done with jumps today. Klara, you almost did it, don't give up. Practice more.'

 A girl in pigtails huffed.

 ' And good job, Yuri!' he said. Yuri rolled his eyes, like  _duh, spins are my thing._ And the coach was used to his rather rude behaviour, so he didn't make a huge fuss out of it. But Victor was sure Yakov would go ballistic if any of his skaters (other than himself) dared to roll their eyes at him.

 ' We will be practicing small Single jumps today.... Like... The Salchow? Can someone demonstrate a Single Salchow?'

 Yuri's hand rose lazily into the air.

 ' Aaah, good. Go ahead, Yuri.'

 Yuri smirked, and changed the Salchow to a double. The landing was a little wobbly, but yeah, he had enough rotations.

  _What the heck,_ Victor thought. 

 ' Amazing!!!' Mila clapped.

 ' Wow,' Yuuri said in awe. ' I wasn't able to do a proper Double Salchow until I was 10. And Yuri did it!'

  _Great, he is a natural jumper, AND a cat person,_ Victor scowled. Evgenia might say he was being unreasonably biased if she heard this thoughts.

  ' Great job, Yura!' Evgenia gave him double thumbs-up.

 To his surprise, Yuri, who was normally so loud and mean, was flushing at the high praises from the older skaters. ' Thanks,' He muttered.

 And then... Someone was slow clapping.

 They all turned to look at the source of the noise.

 Oh, Jean-Jacques Leroy.

 Victor wasn't fond of him. He already proved himself to be the most narcissistic kid on the planet in the first day of camp (because of his famous parents), flashing non-existent abs at girls (what the actual heck) and calling everyone ' _sweetheart_ ' or ' _darling'_   all the time He also had this very strange habit of kissing the ice after he was done skating.

 How his lips wouldn't stick to the ice afterwards, Victor didn't know. And he didn't want to know.

 Yuri probably echoed a familiar sentiment, because he wrinkled his nose and glared daggers at JJ.

 ' That Salchow was brilliant,' JJ said condescendingly. ' I think in several years time, you will be able to match up to my level.'

 Victor and Mila rolled their eyes. Evgenia and Yuuri stifled a giggle. Yuri was shaking with inward anger.

 ' Yuri, am I right?' JJ pointed at Yuri, and next to Victor, Yuuri jolted. ' Man, we are both celebrities, aren't we? We should be bros.'

 ' Celebrities?' Yuuri whispered confusingly. 

 Evgenia answered, ' Yura's mother, Yuliya Plisetskaya, was a famous super model. She retired early, but she was still extremely popular in her time.' 

  ' Shut the hell up,' Yuri growled (again, Victor had to question how he learnt this phrase at a young age of 5). 

 ' My, my, you are a feisty one,' JJ said, not taking the hint at all. ' Well... Is that the  _other_ Yuuri? You two have the same name. This is really confusing. What about giving you a nickname of some sort?'

 ' _Don't you dare_ -'

 JJ said triumphantly, ' Right!!! Yuri Plisetsky, you will be Yuri _o_ from now on!!!'

 Yuri, newly christened as _Yurio_ , let out a murderous scream, terrifying all the kids on the ice. 

 ' Wow. This isn't called for,' Evgenia remarked drily.

 ' WHAT THE HECK?! YOU DON'T JUST CHANGE PEOPLE'S NAMES!!!' Yurio screamed, shaking his fist. ' BESIDES WHY ARE YOU CHANGING MY NAME?! I WAS HERE FIRST, JUST SO YOU KNOW!!!!! CHANGE THE OTHER YUURI'S NAME INSTEAD!!!'

 JJ smiled lazily, ' Didn't know, and I don't care. I saw the other Yuuri first when I came here, so naturally, he will be known as Yuuri. But you, my friend, will be called Yurio.'

 ' Yurio, Yurio,' Mila said slowly, testing it out. ' Ooh. I like it.'

 Evgenia nodded, ' Yeah. I was starting to think that two Yuuris are confusing.'

 Victor thought that Yurio might explode on the spot, because his face was turning purple. Like a beetroot with a bad sunburn.

  _If that kid could say 'what the hell' at the age of 5, he would be swearing like a sailor by 10._

 Yurio, almost bending over in anger, let out a Russian curse.

  _What_.  _Scratch that._

Evgenia gasped.

 Coach Orlovsky panicked and tried to cover the nearest kid's ears. 

 Then... to be followed by... ' I HATE YOU!!!'

 ' My. Look at how excited you are,' JJ smiled.

 ' I AM NOT EXCITED!!!' Yurio shrieked, his hair in his face. ' YOU DON'T CHANGE PEOPLE'S NAMES!!! WHAT WILL YOU SAY IF I CHANGE YOUR NAME?!'

 ' I don't mind you calling me the King JJ, or Your Majesty the King JJ,' JJ answered shamelessly.

 Yurio let out a scream like a wounded elephant, and in case he started to hit everyone on the spot, Victor shielded Yuuri protectively.  

  He skated to the entrance, ice chips flying up vigorously, and stormed past JJ. 

 ' Oh, no,' Yuuri murmured. ' It's my fault. Now he's angry at me.'

 ' He's not angry at you. It's not your fault,' Evgenia sighed. ' We could be calling him Yura instead.'

 JJ wasn't leaving yet.

 ' Oi, Victor! Hoping to skate against you some day! Don't mind me if I am standing in the centre,' he winked at Victor and he groaned.

  JJ's ego was overwhelming. Too overwhelming for his own good. 

 And not all skaters dared to talk to Victor let alone challenge him, because he was almost like a god in the Junior Division, and very ready to snatch more gold medals in his Senior Division. 

 But Victor gave him his public smile, reserved for reporters and competitors, ' I look forward to it.' And he added, ' You must defeat my Yuuri here, first.' JJ's smile faded, and Yuuri let out a startled squeak.

 ' Interesting,' JJ said to himself, winked at all of them, and walked out of the rink.

 Everything went back to normal. The kids went back to skating, and poor Coach Orlovsky was shaken. 

 '  We should go look for _Yurio_ before he rips the place apart,' Mila suggested, emphasising on the new nickname. 

 Evgenia said between giggles, ' Man, that JJ kid has an ego the size of planet Earth.'

 ' More like planet Jupiter,' Yuuri said seriously, and Victor laughed at his humour.  

 ' The Sun,' Mila added. ' I know my astronomy.'

 ' Also, he always flirts with girls,' Yuuri wrinkled his nose. 

 ' With really bad pick-up lines,' Mila said. ' He tried to talk to Anya but of course she ignored him.' 

 ' Ew, what? 10 year old kids use pick-up lines now?' Evgenia chortled.

 ' Ah, I feel old,' Victor wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes, ' But I bet Yurio will be holding a grudge against JJ for the rest of his career. Can you imagine that?'

 ' Yura has his first rival,' Evgenia said, pretending to cry. ' I am touched.' 

 Indeed. Yurio will remember this fateful day for years to come. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No kidding. I know 5 year old kids that can swear in real life. :PPP I was shocked.
> 
> Yeah, and thanks for all the recommendations! XDDD All of them sound amazingggggggg
> 
> I am actually watching Tales of Zestiria the X (whoop whoop Mikleo/Sorey) right now and starting on Haikyuu soon, and I'll definitely check the others out when I'm done. :3333333333 Can't wait!!!


	10. Fans!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> XDDDD

 A week has passed, and Yuuri was warming up to Victor fast. He would smile at him whenever Victor said something about his program, and it took every willpower in Victor's body to not scream in delight like one of his fans. 

 What? He was a fan of Yuuri's. As much as Yuuri was a fan of his. Maybe he should start a Katsuki Yuuri fan club soon and buy all of his posters once the JSF recognised him as an official skater.

 He would be the greatest Katsuki Yuuri fan to ever walk on earth. 

 He had also been working with his jumps in secret. He wasn't supposed to do so, because of many safety reasons and potential accidents bla bla bla, so Evgenia had agreed to supervise their training. Also in secret.

 He wanted to incorporate the Triple Axel into his jump composition for the 'wow factor', and the JSF would definitely acknowledge Yuuri's talents. 

 What Yakov didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

 Yuuri had been finding it easier and easier to land the Triple Axel (big big big secret, because Yakov would definitely have his head) and other Triple jumps he had been having trouble with. For someone who had just been taking figure skating really seriously last year, he was doing fine.

 Most importantly, it boosted Yuuri's confidence. Even though he still popped jumps sometimes when Yakov and the others were watching (cue the ugly snickering from Denis and his goons), he got up right away and asked to redo it once again. Yakov praised him for his efforts. The other skaters cheered for him nonetheless. JJ... Acted like an egotistical jerk and screamed 'IT'S JJ STYLE' even though he wasn't the one to land all those jumps out there.

 Speaking of JJ, Yurio, formerly known as Yuri, tried to make a point of how much he hated his new name. He threw a huge temper tantrum at the break room. He screamed at the top of his lungs. He threatened to dig up all the ice in the rink with his skates. He swore at JJ whenever he could (Lilia would most definitely wash his mouth with soap). He almost demolished the trophy cabinet that belonged to Yakov. 

 Still, that didn't change anything because all the Russian skaters _loved_ this new name.

 ' _Good idea_!' Alexei's eyes lit up when Evgenia told the entire national team about this new arrangement. ' I was having trouble with differentiating those two. Yuri, this Yuri that... Now... We have something better. The Yurio. Let's all call him Yurio from now on!'

 Needless to say, Yurio hated this arrangement. And when Yuuri called him Yurio by accident (he was actually avoiding this name) before dinner, he glowered at him menacingly, as if everything was his fault in the first place.

 Victor defended him.

 Yurio vehemently called Victor an ugly jerk, and poked the bear while he was at it, because it was common knowledge that Victor cared about his looks.

(' He's like that Evil Queen from Snow White,' Mila provided.) 

 Victor proceeded to scream like a banshee.

 The other skaters were rolling all over the place in laughter.

 JJ claimed all the credit for this madness, feeling proud of himself (again). 

 Yurio vowed to crush him in the future. 

 Mila stepped back to watch the entire madness as if it was some kind of comedy show. 

 Yakov... Knew better than to interfere with this so he joined a visibly sweating Yuuri and Mila at the back row.

 Ah, those were the good days. 

 On Saturday morning, most skaters slept in, because Yakov asked them to, but Victor and Yuuri stuck to the normal timetable and made good use of the empty rink. Anya was not here, so naturally, Georgi was nowhere to be found.

 ' Oh, you know what, I've finished the choreography of my newest FS yesterday while you were at Lilia's,' Victor said suddenly, after reviewing Yuuri's Lutz jump. ' Would you like to see it?'

 To his surprise, Yuuri's hands flew to his face and he shrieked. 

 What. That wasn't the reaction he had expected.

 ' Oh my goodness, sorry!' Yuuri blushed. ' Umm... Of course!!! Yes!!!'

 Pressing down his suspicion, Victor poked the play button and soon, he was twirling on the ice. He had altered a lot of his step sequences, because Evgenia had been giving him pointers. She had the best step sequences in the Ladies' divisions as well as being the best technical jumper (that lucky girl). 

 For his final pose, he was half-kneeling on the ice and trying to imitate the neck of a swan with his left hand. He stood up shakily, and asked, ' Well, how was it?'

 Yuuri literally exploded. Well, his fan boy meter did. He started to jabber to himself in rapid Japanese, jumping up and down, and Victor understood none of it of course.

 Huh. Was his program that bad? He thought it was fine, even though he usually didn't like to be overly confident, in contrary to popular beliefs. 

 ' Ummmmm,' He started. ' This routine is quite new... And you are the first to see it. Is it that bad?'

 ' NO it's beautiful!!!' Yuuri clapped a hand to his mouth and promptly switched back to English, ' Sorry for being so rude!!! But I couldn't help myself. I can't believe it!!! I SAW VICTOR NIKIFOROV SKATE IN REAL LIFE!!!' His eyes were shining. 

  _Ohhhh. So that's why._

He continued excitedly, ' IT DIDN'T CROSS MY MIND BUT I... I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD BE ABLE TO SEE YOUR SKATE THIS CLOSE!!! THIS IS SIMPLY AMAZING!!!'

 ' You haven't been to real skating competitions?' Victor raised an eyebrow. ' The NHK Trophy? JGP Events?'

 ' No.'

 ' Man... You should have asked me for tickets!!! I would give all the best front row tickets to an adorable fan like you,' Victor tutted. 

 ' Well... The onsen is quite busy... And I have tons of school work... So...' Yuuri sighed.

 Victor blinked. Oh. He had forgotten about the very concept of 'schools', when he had dropped out of education for figure skating. Yakov sometimes 'home-schooled' him on different languages (so that he could go around and talk to international sponsors), and Evgenia, who went to night classes, taught him the more basic stuff. Wow, Yuuri was actually studying.

  _And... What's an onsen?_

 ' What's an onsen?' Victor asked, feeling immensely stupid. ' Is it some kind of Japanese game or what?' 

 Yuuri laughed, ' No. It's a Japanese hot spring. Hasetsu was famous for its _onsen_ but most of the inns closed down. My family's Yutopia Akatsuki is the only one left. You should try it sometime. It's really relaxing.'

 ' Do you have any photos?' Victor asked. ' Ooh! I also want to look at photos of Hasetsu! Everything sounds cool! Are there sakura trees? Evgenia told me sakura trees are beautiful.'

 ' Woah woah woah, one at a time!' Yuuri giggled. ' I do have some photos on my cell phone. My older sister Mari took them for me... But yeah. You want to look at it now?'

 So they took off their skates and went into Yuuri's own room. He flipped open his cell phone and showed Victor some photos of Hasetsu. 

 ' This is Hasetsu Castle. There is... A ninja house inside,' Yuuri pretended to be a ninja.

 ' REALLY? NINJAS?!' Victor gasped. ' There are ninjas, now?'

 ' No... It's just an old ninja house. And... I like to sit on the benches outside- Oh?'

 Someone was calling him. At such an irregular time.

 The number was weird.

 ' Strange... it's not Minako?' Yuuri frowned, and answered the call. ' Hello?'

 There was a loud buzzing noise, and Yuuri had to hold the phone away from his face. 

 Victor frowned, when Yuuri started to reply in Japanese. He had no idea what he was talking about, but he seemed rather flustered, and was waving his hands around at the same time.

 He held the phone away from his face again, wincing. The person in the phone was screaming. A lot.

 He muttered something, and said sheepishly to Victor, ' Ahh... This is my friend Yuuko-chan. She is a huge fan of yours too... And I copy your skating with her all the time. Apparently, Minako-sensei told her that you are mentoring me, so she is just calling to check.'

 Check? More like screaming.

 ' Oh, wow, she's a fan?' Victor asked.

 There was a pause. And the screaming resumed, louder this time.

 ' She heard you,' Yuuri flinched, holding the phone further away, like it was some kind of dangerous object. ' Can you, erm, say hi?'

 ' Oh hello, Yuuri's friend! I am Victor Nikiforov,' He said into the phone.

 ' NEIGHGHGHGHHHHAHAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!'

 Wow.

 This fan girl might be even more impressive than Yuuri.

 ' VICTOR NIKIFOROV OH MY GOD!!!!!!! I TOLD TAKESHI ABOUT THIS HAAA!!! IN HIS FACE!!!! I WAS RIGHT!!! THIS IS SO COOL OH MY GOD I AM ACTUALLY TALKING TO VICTOR NIKIFOROV AM I DREAMING???????? ASDFGHJKL!!! I LOVE YOUR SKATING!!! YOU ARE AWESOME!!!'

 If his eardrums were still intact at the end of this, he really would be surprised. 

 ' Thank you,' Victor said.

 More screaming.

 ' YUURI YOU MUST GET ME AN AUTOGRAPH!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!'

 ' Okay, okay... Yuuko-chan, I think you should, erm, calm down a little? It's still morning here.'

 ' Ohh sorry!!! But an autograph Yuuri! You must get me Victor's autograph!!!'

 ' Fine. By the way, do you want Evgenia Vasilieva's autograph?'

 ' WHAAAAT?! SHE'S HERE TOO?!' Her voice rose again. ' OF COURSE!!! I AM SO JEALOUS!!!'  

 ' I can throw in Yakov's autograph too,' Victor offered helpfully. ' And a note.' 

 ' REALLY?!'

 Yuuko screamed for some more, Yuuri tried to ask her to calm down, and finally, she ended the call because her parents were probably asking her if she was okay.

 ' Your friend... Is interesting,' Victor said. 

 ' Yeah. She showed me your skating in the first place. I looked up to her when I was a kid. She was the best skater at the rink. We dubbed her the Madonna of Ice Castle Hasetsu,' Yuuri answered fondly.

 And suddenly, due to reasons unknown, Victor got a little jealous. Right. Yuuri had a female best friend.

 He coughed, ' How long have you known this... Yuuko?'

 ' Since I was 2. Her mom and my mom were classmates, so our families are very close,' Yuuri said. ' We went to school and skating lessons together.' 

  Whaaaaaaaaat.

 He masked his jealousy with one of his public grins,' Sooooooo. Do you have feelings for Yuuko?' 

 ' HAH?!!! No, she's like a sister to me!' Yuuri panicked. ' Nothing more.' 

  Oh. Nice. Victor was relieved. He might as well pop the bubble. 

 ' In that case... Do you have a girlfriend?'

 Yuuri shrieked, ' HAH NO WAY!'

 ' Do you have a crush then?'

 ' N-NO COMMENT.'

 ' Let's talk about me! My first girlfriend was-'

 ' STAWPPPP!!!'

 Someone knocked on the door. 

 ' Ahhh hahhh... Someone is... Knocking on the door!' Yuuri jumped onto the opportunity gratefully, and clambered to the door. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahah, I moved the conversation from Ep2 into this chapter. ´♡`
> 
> Next chapter: Triple Axel :PPP


	11. Ice Tiger of Russia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yurio probably made this name up.

 Evgenia was standing outside, her team jacket over her T-shirt and shorts, and she blinked at them, ' What is going on? I swear I heard screams just now. Are you two watching a horror movie or something? If so, keep your voices down. Everyone is awake now.' Her words were like punches in their faces, and everyone knew the normally quiet and calm Evgenia could be rather testy in the morning.

 She once dumped an entire jug of orange juice onto Pyotr at breakfast because he thought waking her up at 4 via a surprise telephone call would be funny.

 ' No we weren't watching a horror movie,' Victor sang at the back of the room. ' Yuuri's _friend_ just called.'

 Emphasising on _friend._

Yuuri probably noticed and shot him a weird look. 

 Good job, Victor.

 ' So?' Evgenia said, her eyes narrowing.

 ' She wants your autograph, if that is fine with you,' Yuuri flushed. ' She's... A great fan of yours.'

 ' Awww, really? That's sweet. Of course it's fine! I can add a small note if you want.' 

 ' Yes please!' 

 ' Daw, you have a fan. And please don't dump orange juice on us,' Victor added cheerfully. ' I would look ugly in orange.'

 She glanced irritatedly at him, ' It's Pyotr's fault. Who even phones someone at 4 in the morning? Don't make it sound like I am a morning monster.' 

 ' But you are,' Victor pouted. 

 If there was a jug of orange juice in the room, Evgenia would most definitely toss it on his head.

 ***

 Yakov called in all the skaters, telling them that he would be looking at their jumps again and give advice. 

 ' We will be doing the Axel today,' Yakov said sternly, and the junior skaters groaned. The senior skaters muttered amongst themselves.

 ' Is Yakov serious?' Pyotr whispered.

 ' Really?!' Sofia questioned. ' But...'

 Everyone looked at Victor worriedly, only to realise that he was smirking. Evgenia fake-coughed. Yuuri nodded grimly.

  ' No worries,' Victor said.

 Konstantin sweated, ' Wait a second-' 

 Yakov seemed to have noticed everyone's discomfort, so he said, ' You can do whichever Axel you are most comfortable with. I highly advise to stick with the Double Axel.'

 ' Pfft,' Denis said rudely. ' Double Axel are for _losers_.' 

 ' Oh?' Mila said snippily. ' So why don't you do a Triple Axel for us? I would love to see it.'

 ' Me too,' One of the younger boys said.

 Denis snarled, and after he had gotten Yakov's permission, he skated around the rink to gather speed, and launched himself into a Triple Axel. To everyone's disappointment, he landed it and gave them all superior looks.

 ' The landing was sloppy, to be honest,' Alexei commented happily.

 ' But he landed it,' Konstantin groaned. ' He's insufferable, guys! He has been bragging about how he could do Triple Axels. No kid can do a good Triple Axel at this age.'

 Evgenia coughed again. 

 ' Can I get you a cough drop?' Victor teased, and she stepped on his foot.

  ' How was it?' Denis smiled broadly at the smaller skaters, expecting them to praise him. They blinked at him.

 Before Yakov could say anything, Mila rolled her eyes, ' It was _terrible_.'

 ' What?' He glared at her.

 ' Terrible. Do I need to spell it out for you? Yes? T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E.' 

 Konstantin choked.

 Georgi said quietly, ' Woah.'

 Alexei said, ' BURN.' 

 Some of the skaters laughed nervously. Even JJ, who was used to being outspoken and loud, stayed quiet this time.

 He puffed up angrily, ' Well, if you are so  _good,_ why don't you do it yourself?'

 ' No, I am still growing, so I can't attempt a Triple jump. But I can still judge,' Mila said haughtily. ' Yuuri can try.'

 ' Whaat,' Yuuri yelped.

 Denis glared daggers at him, but then he smiled, ' That runt can't do anything.'

 ' Enough, Denis,' Yakov said gruffly. ' But... Yuuri. Are you willing to do the jump for us?'

 ' Ummmmmmmmmm.'

  _You can do it, Yuuri!!!!!!!!_ Victor wanted to scream.  _Ganbatteeeeee!!!_ (He learned this word from an online Japanese course)

 ' You can try,' Mila said, with a huge grin.

  ' Erm, yes!!!' Yuuri jolted. 

 ' Poor Yuuri,' Lidiya sighed.

 ' I can't watch anymore,' Alexei gulped. ' Triple Axel? Man.'

 ' Please let him nail it!!!' Konstantin clasped his hands together. ' Please please please please.'

  All the other kids stared on anxiously, as Yuuri prepared himself for the jump. 

 Take-off... And land.

 Fortunately, Yuuri was born to do Axel jumps. He landed a Triple Axel worthy of a 2.00 + GOE right in front of everyone, and didn't even stumble once at the landing.

 Yakov's eyes popped. Mila screamed, pumping her fists in the air. Evgenia patted Victor's back, and Victor simply smiled innocently at his fellow rink mates, who were staring at him, gobsmacked.

 Denis might as well be running and screaming around, because, boy, he looked mad. 

 All the skaters applauded him enthusiastically, and Yuuri bowed hastily, his face red. 

 ' Oh. My. Gosh. This kid did a Triple Axel!!!? What the heck,' Georgi demanded. 

 Pyotr added, ' I wasn't able to do a clean Triple Axel until I was 15... So... What the heck.' 

 ' Mind blown!' Konstantin shouted. ' He's almost better than Victor. You could do a Triple Axel when you were... What? 12?' 

 ' 11,' Victor said. ' Yakov nearly murdered me.' 

 ' I think he was angrier when you did a Quad Toe Loop without asking him,' Evgenia remembered. 

 To their surprise, instead of screaming about safety, Yakov praised him, ' Good job, Yuuri. I am pleasantly surprised you can now do a Triple Axel at such a young age. But there are areas for improvement, and... I will talk to you about it later.'

 ' T-thank you, Coach!!!'

  ' Let's have a break,' Yakov announced, glancing sideways at Victor. ' And... Ahem. I need to talk to Vitya.' 

 Victor smiled at him innocently, but he followed him out anyways. The rest of the skaters kept saying 'congratulations', and retreated to the break room for some water.  Georgi went back to stalking Anya. 

 Mila skated to Yuuri's side, and whispered to him, ' I knew you could do it. Evgenia told me that you have been practicing it in secret!!!'

 ' Oh,' Yuuri answered, relieved that Mila had set him knowing that he would be able to do it in the first place. ' That-'

 Someone pushed him.

 Ugh. Denis.

 ' What's with the jump, loser?' Denis gritted his teeth. ' How did you do it?'

 ' Go away,' Mila snarked. ' It isn't Yuuri's fault you are not as talented as he is.' 

 Denis swatted her away, and she tripped onto the ice. 

 ' Hey!!!' Yuuri said, growing really angry, and promptly skated over to help Mila up. ' What was that for?'

 ' I will be careful if I were you,' Denis growled, leering at him menacingly. ' I can beat the daylights out of you. You should be afraid.'

 ' I am not afraid of you,' Mila scowled, brushing the ice chips off her clothes.

 ' Oh? Would you like to taste a punch in your face? I am not afraid of hitting girls-' 

 Denis fell forward like a falling tree, and Yuuri and Mila had to slide backwards to avoid getting caught in the crash. What the...?

 Standing over Denis, was Yurio.

 Believe it or not. Yurio, a 5 year old kid, had drop kicked a boy nearly two times his size.

 ' WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU KID?!' Denis spat at him. ' I OWN THIS PLACE. YOU DARE KICK ME?' 

 Yurio imitated his glare, and shouted back, ' I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT, YOU LOSER. AND YOU ARE WRONG!!! LISTEN UP, BUDDY, I OWN THIS PLACE, BECAUSE I AM THE... I need a cool name.'

 ' Iced Punk?' Mila suggested.

 ' Ice Tiger of Russia,' Yurio announced. ' I am... The Ice Tiger of Russia.' 

 Mila broke into giggles at the Yurio's bold declaration. Even Yuuri smiled weakly. 

 ' Oh?' A new voice said. ' I am pretty sure I own this place.' Victor had returned from his talk with Yakov and was towering over them with a dangerously calm expression. 

 ' Yeah, you do,' Yurio said. ' But one day, I will take over the place. I am the Ice Tiger of Russia. Rawr.'

 ' Where did you even get this name? Oh. Whatever you want. Now... If I haven't mistaken... You hit Mila?' 

 Denis spluttered, ' N-no such thing!'

 ' He did,' Yurio said, bored.

 Mila sat on the ice, looking at Victor reproachfully. 

 ' But you insulted Yuuri,' Victor smiled at him. 

  Closer friends knew that Victor was bubbly and happy, but other skaters thought Victor was mostly aloof. But they agreed on one thing:

 An angry Victor was dangerous. 

 ***

  ' So... Let me get this straight. Denis had the nerve to threaten Yuuri and hit Mila... Yurio drop-kicked him afterwards... Victor told Yakov about it, and then Denis is told off by Yakov, his parents are informed, and he is banned from entering the rink for three days... And Yuri _o_ got himself a new name?' Alexei snapped his fingers.

 Evgenia groaned, ' This is not the point of the whole story Alexei-'

 ' _Ice Tiger of Russia_! Now that's a good name. Really impressive,' Georgi said. ' Mine is horrible. It's Stalkerish Pigeon. Why?'

 Lidiya muttered, ' Because... You  _are_ a Stalkerish Pigeon?' 

 ' That can be his fan club name,' Pyotr added cheerfully. ' Fangirls of the Ice Tiger of Russia.'

 ' I thought he would be getting Russian Punk for his nickname, but oh well,' Sofia shrugged. 

 Konstantin said, ' Serves Denis right. And wow, Victor caught him redhanded? That's good. He wouldn't be strutting around the place anymore, I hope. He has been so rude to Yuuri, too.'

 And that, was how the Russian team joined the #ProtectKatsukiYuuriSquad

( Yurio refused to admit that he was in the Squad)

( ' I didn't know you cared that much about Yuuri!!!' Mila said.) 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read from somewhere that Georgi's nickname is Pigeon, so... :PPPPPPPPP
> 
> I thought I should mention this earlier, this fic will probably have about 20 chapters :3333333
> 
> Next chapter: They work on the program


	12. Bantering

 The time was moving on more faster than Victor wanted, because man, he would miss Yuuri terribly and he would need to find a horrible excuse just to see him (without Yakov killing him).

 He was improving at the same time, because he was deeply inspired by Yuuri's step sequences. And he wouldn't tell him yet, but he would be incorporating some of his moves into his program. 

 (' Mind you, he's going to be shocked,' Evgenia said.)

 Denis sulkily returned after his 'suspension', no longer acting all high and mighty, and instead looked more like a deflated balloon. He seemed to be mortally terrified of Yurio right now, because Yurio was always snapping and snarling threateningly in his presence, like the Ice Tiger he was. 

 Although Yurio acted like a little punk for most of the time, he tagged along Yuuri quite often, because he too had fallen in love with his step sequences after sneaking into one of their early morning practices.

 ' Y-You!!! YOUR JUMPS SUCK,' He had shakily pointed at Yuuri. ' BUT YOUR STEP SEQUENCES ARE GOOD.'

 ' I know right,' Victor said dreamily, agreeing with Yurio on something at last. 

 Yurio's expression was priceless, ' DO YOU DO CHOREOGRAPHY?'

 Poor Yuuri was taken back by the little Ice Tiger's change in behaviour, because he was normally rude towards him, ' Hah?!' 

 ' Not now,' Yurio growled. ' But one day, you and that Old Man should choreograph a program for me. A gold medal winning program for my senior debut.'

 ' You are 5, and you are already thinking about your senior debut?' Victor teased.

 ' I PLAN AHEAD, UNLIKE YOU,' Yurio glowered.

 Yuuri stammered, ' Erm, that's very nice of you-' 

 ' DON'T GET THE WRONG IDEA. I AM NOT NICE. TIGERS ARE NOT NICE. RAWR.' It was even more funny when he was actually dressed in tiger print. Even his skate guards were in tiger print. Yuuri wondered where he got those. 

 ' Okaaay. Then what are you? Mr. Not-so-nice?' Victor rolled his eyes.

 ' I have a name. I'm the Ice Tiger of Russia,' Yurio proclaimed, and Victor groaned loudly. He had been trying to promote this nickname, and it kind of stuck. Instead of Yurio, other skaters called him 'Little Tiger' or 'boss of the rink'. Take your pick.

 ' Okay. Little Kitten,' Victor said. 

 Yuuri ignored the bantering, ' Umm... I don't think I will be able to win any gold medals.'

 ' Pah!!! Nonsense,' Yurio said. ' You'll be able to crush all of the other skaters especially that dim-witted JJ in the JGP, no problem. You have to grow stronger, so I can crush you all when I get into the Senior division! And I need a good program to do that.'

 Victor snorted, ' So you are asking Yuuri to choreograph a program for you so you can beat him?'

 ' This is good sp-sp...'

 ' Sportsmanship?'

 ' Yeah!' 

 ' I will never understand your logic,' Victor sighed.

 ' You don't need to,' Yurio glared at him. ' No one asked you to.' 

 Victor glared back, ' I wonder what will happen when Yakov takes you on as his new student. The poor man is losing enough hair already. He will be bald, thanks to you.'

 ' Your fault, not mine,' Yurio quipped, cross his arms. ' Don't act like it isn't your fault that half of his hair is missing already.' 

 ' Go awayyyy!!! I don't want to talk to you anymore. Go and annoy Georgi or something,' Victor whined. 

 ' No way. Georgi is creepy. And he stalks Anya all the time,' Yurio wrinkled his nose. ' Is he in love with her or something?'

 ' Yeah, didn't you know? He has been in love with her since he was 12.'

 ' Ugh. Disgusting and creepy. I don't get what he thinks at all,' Yurio shivered. ' Don't mind me. I'm just going to sit here and watch.'

 ' Alright. So... Yurio, you can be our little audience,' Victor said, situating him at the side. ' Yuuri will need to get used to skating in front of someone else anyways. Don't make a noise.'

 ' Like hell I would.' 

  Yuuri ran through his program once without music for Yurio, and the kid didn't complain about his jumps, not even once. 

 ***

 After morning practice, Victor and Yuuri sat at the garden, and this had become their favourite pastime. Sometimes Victor would smuggle Makkachin and Yakov would scream, but literally no one cared.

 ' Yuuuuuuri, what am I going to do when you go back to Japan?' He whined.

 Yuuri frowned, ' Ummm... I thought you need to practice for your senior debut? Half of the world is looking at you.'

 ' I know. But I want to see you again!!! When can I see you again? Yakov would never let me leave St.Petersburg. Maybe I should sneak out to find you.' 

 ' Hah?! You want to find me? Why?'

 ' Because... We are friends, aren't we?' Victor nudged him. 

 ' Erm,' Yuuri swallowed. 

 ' What?' Victor pouted. ' Even Skating Legends need to have friends. And you are definitely my best friend, apart from Makka.'

 Yuuri grew pink. 

 Victor said enthusiastically, ' We could keep in touch!!! Do you have email? Or Facebook? Let's be friends!!! We are going to travel around the world and skate against each other, how fun is that?'

 ' Given that the JSF is interested in me,' Yuuri said sulkily, brushing at his sneakers. ' They already have a lot of talented skaters.'

 ' Nah. They only have Hirota-san and Morita-san in the male's senior division, the rest are female figure skaters. Hirota-san is 25 and Morita-san is 27. They will be retiring soon, I think. The JSF will surely be scouting for new blood soon.'

 ' No way they are interested in me.' 

 ' Of course they would be! I am sure of that,' Victor smiled. ' I daresay you will be allowed into the JGP next year. But then you will need to get a coach. Minako-sensei will do just fine, I think, but when you move up to the Senior division, you will need a more professional coach. You can come to St.Petersburg!!! Yakov will definitely train you!!! You can live with us!!! Mila and Yurio will be SO HAPPY.'

 ' WHAAAAAAT?!!!' Yuuri very nearly fainted.

 ' YEAH WHY NOT?!!!'

 ' Hahhhhh I am not even Russian, why would Coach Yakov coach me?' Yuuri panicked, horribly terrified.

 ' Umm,' Victor squirmed. ' I don't know... Maybe I can coach you? I would be willing to.' He added a wink for good measure.

 Yuuri fainted on the spot.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE HYPE FOR THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IS REAL I REPEAT THE HYPE IS REAL AHHHHHHHH XDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
> 
> I calculated all the time differences lmaooo and I may or may not be able to catch the Ladies' SP but I will be able to watch the Men's SP!!!! :DDDDDDDDD TOO EXCITED AHHHAHAHHHHHH!!!!!!!


	13. Yurio discovers the truth?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHH THE LADIES' SP AHHHHHH *WATCHING THE LIVE STREAM AS I TYPE AHHHHHHH* 
> 
> :OOOOOOOO SCREAMS and multitasks because....
> 
> (tosses homework away)
> 
> jkjk 
> 
> Sooooo looking forward to seeing Evgenia Medvedeva skate (Her Triple Tano and Rippon variations are seriously getting better and better). :333333333333

 Somehow, Yuuri appreciated Yurio's presence. 

 He was anxious, while Yurio glared daggers at him (The Glare Level 10 Supreme™) from across the ice, and in comparison, the public audience, other skaters and coaches didn't seem as scary. Evgenia reckoned Yurio could be Yakov the Second when he grew old.

 As the showcase day drew closer, the rink was more and more occupied, and soon the others took a leaf out of Yuuri and Victor's book, and woke up early to skate at the rink. At half past 6 in the morning, the rink was already crawling with anxious skaters and supervising coaches, so Victor and Yuuri had to wake up at half past 5. And Yuuri wasn't exactly a morning bird, so he actually skated around the rink like a zombie before skating.

 ' You look dreadful,' Mila commented, and she was halfway through her program. 

 ' Because Victor thought it would be a good idea to pound at my door at 5,' Yuuri looked at Victor reproachfully. 

 ' What? There's no one at the rink at 5,' Victor protested. ' Besides, Yakov doesn't care. You know what, we can wake up earlier, and I can show you some Quads.'

 ' HAH,' Yuuri gasped.

 Evgenia planted a toe pick menacingly in the ice (she was menacing this way), '  _Victor Nikiforov_ don't you dare!!! Yakov will never let this slide. He's only 13.'

 ' So? I tried Quads when I was 12,' Victor said.

 ' AND YAKOV NEARLY THREW YOUR SKATES AWAY,' Evgenia eyed him severely, and her expression was so reminiscent of Lilia's, that Victor became silent. ' Sergei got into trouble because he was supposed to be looking at you. And you nearly broke your leg.'

 Yurio hobbled to them and vowed, ' Doh. I am going to master Quads. You know what, I will do the Quad Salchow by 12.'

 ' Wow, kiddo, don't you dare try,' Evgenia said, horrified. ' You are still growing, so you aren't supposed to do Quads until you are in the Senior division.'

 ' Unfair!!!' Yurio growled. ' They only let me do Single or Double jumps, because I am small.'

 ' You  _are_ small,' Yuuri confessed. ' You are 5.'

 ' SO?! NO ONE IS TOO SMALL,' Yurio snarled. ' 5 YEAR OLDS CAN DO EVERYTHING. 5 YEAR OLDS CAN GO TO WORK. 5 YEAR OLDS CAN RUN THE WORLD. 5 YEAR OLDS CAN GET GOLD MEDALS. 5 YEAR OLDS CAN GO TO UNIVERSITY.'

 ' Uhhhhhhhhh,' Mila said slowly. ' I am pretty sure 5 year olds can't go to work.' 

 ' YOU ARE AN AGEIST,' Yurio accused.

 No one dared to question the angry little tiger ever since.

 Originally, Victor just thought of Yurio as a little angry tiger, but he had no idea he would become a big nuisance.

 He had fallen in love with Yuuri's step sequence techniques, and tagged along whenever possible. 

 Not that Victor was jealous of a 5 year old kid... But he really was being annoying. Whenever he tried to talk to Yuuri, Yurio would come barging over, ' OI YUURI NUMBER 2, GIVE ME SOME OPINIONS ON MY PROGRAM. I AM TRYING TO MAKE A PROGRAM.' 

 And Yuuri would follow him.

 Victor was angry. What the heck?!!! A 5 year old kid making a program? That was impossible. And he was preventing Victor from talking to Yuuri!!! Besides, he only had a couple days left to spend with Yuuri and he cherished every minute of it.

 When he voiced out his anger to Evgenia, the older skater muttered, ' Vitya, you can't be jealous of a 5 year old kid.'

 ' I KNOW, BUT I REALLY WANT TO TALK TO YUURI!!! HE WILL BE LEAVING SOON,' He wailed dramatically.

 ' You are pining, aren't you?' Evgenia sighed. ' Man. And we all think Georgi is stalkerish.'

 ' I am not stalkerish! I just want to be friends with Yuuri, that's all. But Yurio is making everything difficult.'

 ' Whaaaaaat. He's asking Yuuri for professional advice. He can't be jealous of that. It's a good experience, and it's rare for that little Ice Tiger to erm... Ask someone for advice. Just relax. It isn't like the Earth has cracked in half leaving Yuuri on one side and you on the other side. You can get to see him later, when he officially joins the JSF,' Evgenia took a swig from her water bottle and said thoughtfully. ' You have a long long way from retiring. Me, however, might be retiring soon.'

 ' WHAT, you are only 21 years old! You can't retire!' Victor spluttered. 

 She rubbed her knee sheepishly, ' I am just thinking ahead. I want to retire with a bang. I don't want my ankle to get any worse.' She was right. In the 2003-2004 season, she had to withdraw from the Grand Prix series because she had twisted her ankle quite badly on a wrong jump. Even though she recovered quickly, her ankle still bothered her sometimes after a hard day of practice.

 ' I will be so lonely if you leave,' Victor said sadly. ' You are the only friend I have at the rink.'

 ' You have Georgi.'

 ' He pines after Anya only.' 

 ' You have Mila,' She sighed.

 ' She's too busy kicking bullies.'

 ' Yuuri? He will be moving to the Senior division.' 

 ' Like, 3 years later,' Victor leaned against the side of the rink sulkily, watching as Yurio tried to show Yuuri his mini program in the distance. It was obvious that Yurio would grow to be a great skater in the future.

 Victor wondered what would happen when Yurio too joined the Senior division. Hmm... A little bit of mental calculation... 10 years later? He would probably be 27 years old by then, close to retiring. And Yuuri would be 23, at his prime. The very thought of it made him feel giddy.

 ' I would love to watch the both of them grow,' Evgenia commented. ' Yurio might grow to be the best technical jumper, and Yuuri might be the master of step sequences. Who knows? Ooh, maybe Mila will become the first female skater to do Quads, with her strength. I can't wait!!!'

 They stared ahead, imagining them all grown up on the ice.

 ***

 Victor was sitting at the break room, watching the television while Yakov taught the little skaters. 

 Yurio barged in, and said triumphantly, ' OHO. I HAVE MADE A DISCOVERY.'

 ' Oh? Do tell,' Victor pulled off his hair tie to redo his ponytail out of boredom. 

 ' YOU HAVE A...'

 ' A what? Spit out, kid.'

 ' BRUSH ON YUURI!!!' He pointed at him with an accusatory sort of tone.

 ' A brush?' Victor frowned. ' What? Why would I have a brush on Yuuri?'

 Yurio narrowed his eyes in concentration, and snapped his fingers, ' No... Not the right word. It's... Aha, yes. Crush! You have a crush on Yuuri!!!'

 ' NO,' Victor said a little too quickly, nearly falling off his chair.

  _WHAAAT?!!!!!!!!!!_

 ' AHA!!! THAT IS THE LOOK OF A GOOSE.'

 ' A WHAT?!' Victor yelled back.

 ' GUILTY,' Yurio shouted back, struggling to find the right word in his small memory bank. 

 ' WHO TAUGHT YOU THAT?!'

 ' Stop changing the topic!!!' Yurio snarled. ' You like the Pig!!! It's a crush! You're just like Georgi! This is disgusting!'

 ' Excuse me, what an accusation! Yuuri is just 13, kid,' Victor glared at him. ' You have any proof? And what the hell, why are we even talking in English?'

 ' Practice, duh. You have the same look as Georgi when Anya was talking to Pyotr Number 2, when I was talking to Yuuri!' He said. ' You are jelly. No, jealous.' 

 ' None of your business, kiddo!' Victor hid his blush. ' We are just friends.'

 ' Ewwwww you are just like Georgi,' Yurio made a face at him and stalked away haughtily, head held high. 

 That little Tiger kid sure was scary. 

 But... He wouldn't be having a crush on Yuuri... Righttttt?

Righttttt?

 Right... 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GROUP 6 IS SKATING RIGHT NOW AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
> 
> Hoped you like little Yurio in this chapter ahahaha *I am not exactly in my right state of mind as I write because I am screaming too much*
> 
> Please don't mind... Now... Let me return to screaming because Group 7 will be skating soon......... <33333
> 
> Next chapter: Showcase!!!! (Hope I won't die after watching the SP because I am screaming)
> 
> Edit: (JUST POPPED OVER FROM THE LIVE STREAM I AM DYING HEREEEEEEEEE) OMGGGG I SAW ARTICLES SAYING THAT YOI S2 IS IN PRODUCTION?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE LET IT BE REAL MY POOR HEART CAN'T TAKE ANY MORE....


	14. Anxiety technique: The Cacti

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I came back from the Men's SP (emotionally unstable right now so the chapter title is weird ahaha).... And sadly I will be missing Ladies' FS (ARGHHHHHHHH) and I may or may not miss most of the Men's FS (ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH)...
> 
> Also, congratulations to Sui Wen Jing and Han Cong for winning the pair skate event!!! They were AWESOME. <3 
> 
> Good luck to Evgenia!!! Her Rippon Toe Loop is gooooooood.... XDDD And of course, good luck to all the other skaters. 
> 
> And I wish Yuzu and Nathan will skate clean programs tomorrow!!! They were impressive yesterday so don't give up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck to Shoma too!!! 
> 
> (Man... The Salchow and the 1 mark deduction for Yuzu....)

 They had absolutely no idea that the showcase was going to be _that_ of a big deal.

 Well, Yakov had been emphasising for ages that they were going to have a lot of visitors, but they had no idea reporters were going to show up all over the place. 

 Victor was worried when they started to flood into the place, because he knew how anxious Yuuri would get. He didn't even have time to call Minako-sensei to ask for help.

 Morning practice went well, and in Victor's logic, if practice went well, the actual thing would go well (most likely), but there was no saying in whether Yuuri's anxiety would act up all of a sudden. 

 That would be really bad.

 So he begged Mila, Evgenia and even Yurio for help, to shield Yuuri away from the audience, right before the showcase. And he avoided looking at Yurio, in case he started to scream about how he had a 'brush' on Yuuri. That would be mortifying, and Yuuri would probably hop on the first plane back to Japan. 

 ' My dad came,' Mila announced. Sure enough, they spotted an auburn-haired man at the entrance, holding a large camera and all bushy-tailed like Mila.

 ' Like father, like daughter,' Evgenia joked. She was in one of her more formal black dresses, reserved for skating banquets. Victor wore a dark shirt for the occasion, because Yakov made him. And his hair was tied up, not a wisp out of place. 

 It wasn't supposed to be a serious occasion. It was meant to be a showcase of the fruits of the camp and let everyone have fun, but somehow, reporters flocked to the rink because well, Yakov Feltsman and his best skaters were going to be there. 

 Yurio growled menacingly. He wasn't safe from the 'wardrobe change', because he was forced into formal wear. His sneakers were tiger print, though. 

 The younger male skaters were in simple shirts and pants, and the female skaters wore neat dresses. 

 ' Oh my god,' Yuuri paced around in the break room. ' What if I mess up?'

 ' Don't think about it. Relax,' Evgenia coaxed. ' Listen to some music! That's what I do all the time before competitions. I have my headphones somewhere...' She rummaged in her skate bag. 

 ' Just enjoy yourself,' Victor said. ' It's just a showcase.'

 ' Reporters will be there!!!' Yuuri panicked.

 ' You won't even see them while you skate,' Evgenia said. ' Everything will be just a blur. Oh look I found my headphones.' 

 ' They won't be as terrifying as me,' Yurio bared his teeth like a tiger. ' Rawr.'  

 They bursted into laughter at Yurio's funny face, and even Yuuri giggled a little.

 Georgi's head popped into the room (what's with the glimmering blue eyeshadow), ' Yo. They're starting. Yakov's making a  _boringggggggggggg_ speech. Thanking the parents for letting their kids join his camp, his objectives and bla bla bla.'

 ' That's good to know,' Mila said.

 ' Humph. I will call you when it's your turn. First, I must reapply my eyeshadow. It's a little smudged.' He disappeared into the bathroom.

  Yurio scoffed, ' As if blue eyeshadow is attractive. We are talking about Anya Dobrovolskaya.'

 They heard applause, which meant Yakov's speech was over. Okay.

 There was some muffled talking, and the music started. 

 Praise God for Yurio's existence. He might be an angsty little tiger, but he knew how to make Yuuri laugh and forget about his anxiety. He ranted about not allowing five-year old kids to attempt Triple jumps, how he was going to get a gold at his first JGP and conservation of tigers. 

 Yurio was halfway through his long and passionate speech about cats and dogs (Victor tried hard not to punch him in the face for insulting dogs), when Georgi reappeared (midnight blue eyeshadow newly applied), ' Mila, it's your turn.'

 Mila scrambled off the table, and said brightly, ' OKAY!!!' 

 She disappeared with Evgenia.

 Yuuri hoped she did well.

 Yurio continued on his speech about tigers.

 Victor wanted to slam his face onto the wall.

 Ten minutes later, Mila returned, breathless and her face pink with excitement, ' They liked my program!!!!!' Evgenia trailed behind her, looking very pleased.

 ' She landed all of her jumps,' Evgenia ruffled Mila's hair. ' The Axel needs a little more work though, but I think you nailed it. One day, you are going to be a champion.'

 ' Really???' Mila asked excitedly.

 ' Sure thing,' Victor said.

 ' You are going to be fine, Yuuri,' Mila shouted. 

 ' JUST IMAGINE THEM AS SOMETHING ELSE,' Yurio bellowed. ' LIKE... LIKE... CACTI!!!'

 Silence.

 Victor frowned, ' Cacti...?'

 Evgenia, Mila and Yuuri rolled over, laughing. 

 ' WHAAAT,' Yurio snarled. ' IT WORKS FOR ME!!!!!!!' 

 Georgi came back, looking annoyed, ' Do you have to be so loud? I was watching Anya.'

 ' TMI!!!!!!' Yurio roared. ' EWWWW!!! CREEP ALERT!!!!!!!!!!'

 ' What?' Georgi said. ' Yeah, Yuuri, it's about your turn. Denis is almost done. Tripped on the Triple Axel, by the way.'

 Yuuri thought he was about to faint.

 ' Wow, steady there, buddy,' Victor gave him support. ' You are going to be fine!!!'

 ' Yeah!!! Kick some ass!!!' Yurio shouted, and Evgenia said, ' Yura, language!!!'

 Victor led Yuuri to the rink, and it was dark. Dramatic, multi-coloured lights were flashing in all directions, and Denis was almost done with his combination spin.

 The usual 'water-bottle' area was filled with reporters, cameramen and parents. He even spotted Lilia in a mustard-yellow coat, standing next to Yakov.

 ' _Thank you, Denis! Excellent program.'_ Alexei was probably the announcer. 

 ' Yuuri, you will be fine,' Victor said. ' Pretend that we are the only ones at this rink, okay? Just like normal practice. Visualise it...'

 Yuuri gave a weak laugh, ' Imagine them as cacti?'

 ' Well... If it works,' Victor scratched the back of his head, questioning Yurio's logic behind this. ' Ummm... Pretend that you are skating for me. Only, me. No one exists. They are, er, cacti.'

 Yuuri nodded.

 ' I will be watching you,' Victor promised.

 '  _Next up, we have Katsuki Yuuri of Japan. He's 13. And his mentoring skater is... Tada!!! Victor Nikiforov!!!'_

Victor groaned. Alexei must be having fun at the announcer's booth and amongst the high-tech equipment.

  At the mention of the best skater, the reporters chattered excitedly, curious about Victor Nikiforov's skater. 

 '  _He will be skating to Merry Go Round of Life by Joe Hisashi, from the movie Howl's Moving Castle. Man, I liked that movie. Oh, sorry. Yes, let's welcome Yuuri!!!!!!'_

Yuuri gulped, and he offered Victor his skate guards. Victor took them, gave him a soft, reassuring nod, and Yuuri skated out to the centre of the rink.

 The music began.

  _Okay. Everyone is just cacti. They are no more than cacti. I can do this,_ Yuuri thought.  _And Victor is the only one there. He's watching me._

He kicked off the program with the Triple Flip, Double Toe combination. Success. 

 He was starting to be more confident, because he realised... Hey. He enjoyed this. He enjoyed the exhilarating feeling of doing jumps and it just felt so nice to be on the ice. 

 It wasn't as bad as he had envisioned. 

 And Victor was watching him, too. 

 His anxiety began to fade. 

 He threw in the Triple Loop and Lutz, and both of them were successful too.

 He imagined Victor at his side, skating with him as they did in usual practice, and there was this warm feeling settling inside him. He felt so... At home and comfortable. He almost wished Victor could be with him on the ice too. 

 He let his ballet skills guide him through the step sequences, and he really was born to do step sequences. Hopefully, Lilia and Minako (if she was watching) would like this program, because Victor designed it solely for him.

 He ended the program with a Triple Axel, and over the music, the audience screamed. Of course, the Yurio's 'cacti spell' broke off at that point, and he bowed at them after the combination spin.

 Silence.

 Silence.

 And thunderous applause. 

 He smiled bashfully, bowed, and skated towards the entrance. Victor was there already, jumping up and down happily, ' YUUUUUUUURI!!!! THAT WAS AMAZINGGGG!!! THE TRIPLE AXEL WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!'

 He even gave him a bear-hug.

 Yuuri blushed against Victor's chest, and the reporters were having a field day because Victor Nikiforov was hugging someone. 

 Lilia clapped along with the others, looking very pleased. Yakov gave him an approving nod. 

 Evgenia and Mila appeared out of nowhere, cheered and gave him a group hug.

 Yuuri simply smiled dazedly in the middle of everything, hoping that everything had enjoyed his program, because he most definitely enjoyed the process. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go... :333333
> 
> *Fingers crossed for Ladies' FS* 
> 
> Next chapter: Goodbyes


	15. Commemorative photo? Sure thing!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *pants and deep breaths*
> 
> So... I ran home to catch the Men's FS, and I turned on my laptop JUST INTIME TO SEE YUZU'S FS!!!!! I LEGIT CRIED BECAUSE IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL *UGLY SOBBING* AND AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE HE SAID HE IS GOING TO TRY THE QUAD AXEL WHOOHOO!!! 
> 
> CONGRATZ TO EVGENIA MEDVEDEVA FOR WINNING THE LADIES' EVENTS!!! XDDD AND GOOD LUCK TO ICE DANCERS!!! Virtue and Moir, I am rooting for you!!! :DDDDDDDDDDD
> 
> I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THE EXHIBITION ALREADY!!!
> 
> *proceeds to ugly sobbing*

 It was a day of autographs, commemorative photos and goodbyes.

 Most skaters woke up late after the crazy showcase yesterday, and they actually skated until midnight, because someone had moved in a freaking DJ booth in the middle of the 'water-bottle' area. Yurio was fascinated by the buttons and he said DJs were the coolest thing ever next to cats. Evgenia found it funny.

 Victor seemed to be most popular, as most young skaters requested to take a photo with him. He was fine with dishing out fan service so he smiled dazzlingly for the cameras. 

 ' I can't believe this!' Alexei said. ' They're ditching us for Victor!'

 Lidiya sighed, ' He's hot, alright.' 

 Pyotr reminded, ' Fashion Daily listed him as part of the Top 20 attractive teen celebrities! No kidding.'

 ' Sports Web said he is the hottest athlete!' Sofia giggled. ' He has millions of fans.' 

 Oh, Victor was that popular. 

 Yuuri had a flight to catch in the afternoon, so he walked around to talk to all of the skaters. The Russian Skaters that were part of the #ProtectKatsukiYuuriSquad actually bought a big notebook. All of them signed in them and added encouraging little messages, and Yuuri received them gratefully. But he wasn't so sure about Georgi's message:  _FIGHT FOR LOVE!!!_

Yakov stopped by to talk to him for a while, commending him for his efforts and wishing him good luck with the JSF. The JSF should have noticed all the videos the Russian sports companies had posted onto YouTube or their official websites by now, because many people were talking about this new Japanese figure skater, instructed by none other than Victor Nikiforov himself. 

 Konstantin surprised Yuuri by buying him a poster of Victor posing for his last season's FS, and he signed on it. Yuuri took it, nearly exploding in happiness and yes, it would make a fine addition to his collection (of course he didn't tell them about his growing Victor Nikiforov shrine, because that would be creepy as hell and Yurio would laugh at him for having a celebrity crush). He might put it on that bit of wall above his bed. 

 Evgenia and Victor kept to their promises and signed on a large piece of paper just for Yuuko. Yuuri imagined that Yuuko would be screaming and running around for days. Takeshi would be so annoyed.

 ' Tell your friend that I am grateful for her support!' Evgenia smiled. ' I hope my next season will not disappoint.'

 ' Obviously not,' Victor rolled his eyes. ' You have the Triple Axel planned again.'

 ' Oho. Can't be sure. Freya Banks is also strong,' Evgenia gingerly put the cap back onto her special black marker, reserved for autographs. ' She nearly beat me at the Europeans. You never know.' 

 Turning back to Yuuri, Victor whined, ' I will miss you so much!!!'

 ' Hah?!' Yurio screamed in the background.

 ' Oooooooooooh,' Mila wiggled her eyebrows. Yurio retched. 

 Evgenia interrupted with a cough, ' Continue to skate, will you? We would all like to see you advance to the JGP. You have a lot of potential, Yuuri, so never give up! Ganbatte! Oosh!' 

 ' Um, thank you,' Yuuri said timidly.

 ' We will be seeing each other soon, right?' Victor wailed (oh, the pining). ' You'll be seeing my first senior event, right? You will be going to the Finals, right?'

 ' He goes to school, unlike you, you idiot,' Yurio exclaimed. ' Of course he won't be allowed to leave school in the middle of September and October!' 

 Evgenia nodded and Yuuri simply nodded apologetically.

 ' I will be watching the events live,' He promised. 

 Victor still looked so hurt. 

 ' Ewwwwwwww. Just admit it,' Yurio said, oddly triumphant. ' You, Old Man, have a bru-'

 ' BRUNCH!!!' Victor clapped his hand over Yurio's mouth in record speed, to avoid him from blabbering out everything because that kid seriously didn't know when to shut up. ' I HAVE A BRUNCH TO MAKE!!!' 

 ' Brunch?' Mila echoed, puzzled. ' You just had breakfast.' 

 Yurio's eyes flashed murderously, his mouth still covered. 

 ' You had a  _large_ breakfast,' Yuuri pointed out. 

 ' I have a fast _metabolism rate_ ,' Victor gave him a pointed glare. ' I eat all the time.' 

 ' You should follow a strict diet,' Evgenia said sternly. 

 ' Yes mom,' Victor said monotonously, and removed his hand from Yurio's mouth. The kid stomped his foot on the ground to show his anger, but thank god, he had forgotten what he was going to say before he was interrupted. 

 Evgenia cleared her throat, ' I have the impression that you two would like to stay in touch with each other. Yuuri, do you have an email account?'

 ' Er, yes,' Yuuri answered. 

 ' Excellent, you two can exchange email accounts,' Evgenia gestured briefly. 

 ' Wonderful idea!!!' Victor's eyes sparkled. ' Why didn't I think of that?'

 Yurio snarked, ' Because she's a genius and you are an idiot. Simple.'

 Victor had this sudden urge to toss the kid off a cliff. He had this rare talent of angering him all the time.

 ' Ummmmmmmmm,' Yuuri said. ' I do have your email address. It's on your fan page.'

 ' Oh no no no no, that's my  _public_ email. It's all clogged with sponsorship offers, fan letters and weird stuff. I check it... Like... Once a month only,' Victor grabbed Evgenia's marker ('Hey!') and scrawled down his other email address onto a spare piece of paper. ' This is my  _private_ account. It's reserved for Yakov, my Skate Family and close friends. I check it daily even when I have competitions, so... We can write mails to each other all the time!'

 ' Also, you can get to polish your English skills,' Evgenia said animatedly. ' Learning international languages is very important for a figure skater. Press conferences, sponsorship deals and communicating with fellow competitors.' 

 Mila asked, ' What languages do you know?'

 ' Well...' Evgenia pondered for a moment. ' I am fluent in Russian and English of course. My French and Spanish are decent. Hmm... I can say basic stuff like "good luck', "thank you", "congratulations" and "I will try my best" in Italian, Mandarin and German. I picked them up from my competitors, I guess. Now, I am trying to learn Japanese.' 

 ' I will master Japanese some day!' Victor vowed and Yurio rolled his eyes.

 In an exchange, Yuuri shakily gave Victor his email address. His fan boy meter screamed throughout the entire conversation, questioning himself how he managed to get the private mail address of his idol. Right, just four months ago, he was still dreaming about seeing his idol in the distance and that very thought already intrigued him. 

 At noon, they helped him pack up his stuff. Mila gave Yuuri a mini hug, and Yurio thundered, ' YOU HAD BETTER PRACTICE HARD. I NEED YOU TO RISE TO THE TOP SO I CAN CRUSH YOU FOR REAL.'

 It sounded rude, but this meant Yurio viewed him as a worthy opponent. That meant a lot from this tiger kid, who usually thought other people were scum. Especially Jean-Jacques Leroy. 

 Lilia was waiting outside to drive him to the airport. Victor gazed up at her apprehensively, and Yurio simply scoffed, because he had no idea who that lady was. Evgenia shushed him.

 And Yuuri nearly exploded again when Victor gave him one last hug. Lilia pretended to turn a blind eye. 

 ' Let's write to each other frequently... But I will still miss you,' Victor said. ' Hope we can see each other soon. And do tell me when the JSF scouts you. We would be thrilled.'

 ' And don't forget to tell us about your progress!!!' Mila shouted.

 ' Good luck,' Yurio grumbled grudgingly, pinching at the hem of his tiger patterned jacket. 

 ' Thank you, everyone!' Yuuri said, his eyes almost brimming in happy tears. 

 His fan boy heart reminded him of something. Something he had forgotten about and was equally important to him.

 He asked shyly, ' Victor, can I take a photo with you?'

 ' A commemorative photo? Sure thing!' Victor beamed, and he gladly put his arm around Yuuri for a photo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *still emotionally unstable here* *waves*
> 
> Tell me what your thoughts about the Men's FS!!!!! :DDD SCREAM WITH ME!!!!!
> 
> Next chapter: Returning to Japan


	16. Who's missing?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;)

 '  _Look, Vitya, you are like a little brother to me. And I am telling you you can't do this.'_

_' Look, you are like an older sister to me. But I am telling you I must do this. If I don't I will die.'_

_' You won't.'_

_' Oh, I will.'_

_' ...'_

_' ...'_

_' ...'_

_' ...'_

_' Fine.'_

_' You're the best!!!_ ´♡`Love you! '

 ' _Okay, okay. But listen up! I am not holding any responsibilities for a fire-spewing Yakov. You will be in so much trouble when you come back, understood?'_

_' No problem.'_

_' You had better be practicing too. And you have to follow your diet plan. No drinking, please.'_

_' I am 17!!!'_

_' I AM SERIOUS. NO DRINKING!!!!'_

 ***

  Yuuri was starting to miss St.Petersburg two days after he returned home.

 Not that he hated to be home, he missed his family and friends terribly, and his mom even made him katsudon with extra-extra-large pork cutlets as part of the mandatory 'welcome-home' meal, but he missed the charming streets, canals and the little shops. 

 Minako-sensei had found a Russian website that streamed their showcase, and she had a small viewing session at her bar. Most of Yuuri's classmates and Yutopia's regulars attended and they had lots of fun. They called him the Pride of Hasetsu, and were excited for his future career. 

 Yuuko bawled when she received her autographs, and promised to stick it over her writing desk so she could stare at it and sigh while doing her homework. Takeshi didn't think it was a good idea, because she was so distracted. 

 Best of all, everyone sobbed out of happiness when the JSF sent in a letter to scout for him. They had seen his performance of course, called it the 'best performance by a junior skater they had ever seen', and had made it clear that they would be willing to send him to the JGP if he was willing to. They offered to assign him a coach for his Junior debut because Minako-sensei would not be able to coach him. But he would have to find himself a professional coach for his senior debut. Well, he didn't need to worry about this for now.

  Yuuri was so happy that he wanted to send a mail to Victor immediately, so he and the rest of the skaters could share his happiness.

 However... Before he could... The figure skating fandom was screaming at this sudden piece of news...

  _[ Victor Nikiforov, Junior World figure skating champion, missing? ]_

_[ The Legend of Figure Skating, reported to be missing by coach. ]_

_[ Theories: Victor Nikiforov, kidnapped before senior debut? ]_

_[ Victor Nikiforov has been missing since yesterday morning. ]_

_[ Head of National rink refuses to give an official statement. ]_

_[ RSF urges the police to find Victor Nikiforov. ]_

 

Yuuri thought he might faint out of worry. 

 Why would Victor be missing? Worse, he might be kidnapped by crazed competitors, as most articles suggested!!! 

He spent the entire day on the Internet, holding Vicchan close to him (his poodle was whining sadly) and trying to search up more information on the disappearance of Victor. Apparently, he was last seen at morning practice with his fellow rink mates, and then, he had disappeared off the face of Earth by noon. 

 Victor might be dying in a ditch, and the very thought of it terrified him.

 Should he try to bombard Evgenia's public media account? Maybe she would know what had happened. Or maybe Yurio had just stolen him from practice to have a debate about cats and dogs. Or Yurio had actually killed him with his skates. 

 At the same time, Victor's fan club exploded, all of them were wailing about the loss of their favourite skater and urged the police to find him, because they were all freaking out. 

 ' Yuuri?' Mari peeked into his room. The light poured into his room, and his eyes immediately watered. Without realising, he hadn't even turned on the lights.

 ' Mari-nee-chan?' 

 ' Are you going to stay cooped up in your room for the entire day?' Mari narrowed her eyes. ' Yuuko has been looking for you. I told her that you were tired. Minako-sensei also came over in the afternoon. She wants you to begin practice if you are to join the JSF officially.'

 Yuuri wanted to scream  _BUT VICTOR IS MISSING HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SKATE WHEN MY BIGGEST INSPIRATION IS GONE?!!!_

' Speaking of which, mom asked me to get you down for dinner. She's too busy to look for you.'

 ' Hah?'

 ' We have a new guest. A big deal, apparently.' 

Vicchan squirmed, his fluffy ears twitching. Then, he jumped out of Yuuri arms and dashed into the corridor without warning.

 ' Vicchan!' He called after his poodle, stunned. Before Mari could react, he chased after Vicchan.

 He had no idea where Vicchan was heading towards, because he was barking excitedly towards a source.

 ' Vicchan!!!!' He called again, and ran towards the exit. He had to rub his eyes to check whether he was dreaming.

 Vicchan was playing around with a furry poodle twice his size, chasing his tail. 

 ' M-Makkachin?' He said in awe. 

 The larger poodle barked happily at the sight of him, and knocked him over to lick at his face. Vicchan joined in the game, and started to lick at Yuuri too.

 ' Hahaha! It tickles!' He giggled, momentarily distracted. ' Makka, why are you here?' 

 ' He's just like Vicchan, right?' Yuuri's father appeared behind him, holding a platter of food. ' He came with a good-looking foreigner. Sounds Russian.'

  _Good-looking foreigner? Russian? Makkachin?_

 Ohhhh.

 Wait.

 Wait, what?!

 ' HAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!!!!!!!!!!!' Yuuri shrieked, and the two poodles jumped off him, surprised by his reaction. ' WHAAAT?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'

 ' Huh, what's wrong?' Toshiya raised an eyebrow confusingly.

 Vicchan and Makkachin were pawing at his leg again, and his voice was shaky, ' W-where is he?'

 ' Oh, your mother asked him to go enjoy himself at the onsen while we prep his room,' His father answered. ' He said he will be staying for a month or something. Is he a student? He must be a wealthy student to be able to afford a trip as long as this.'

 Yuuri ignored his father, and ran to the onsen, almost tearing out his hair.

 He was so shocked, that he didn't take off his shoes after running into the onsen and he didn't even stop once to question himself ' what am I even doing?!'.

 Fortunately, there were no guests in the indoor onsen at that time, or else he would be judged so hard running in like that.

  He slid open the door with so much force that he nearly broke it, and.............

  IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STEAMING ONSEN, WAS VICTOR FREAKING NIKIFOROV?!!!!!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 The very same Victor Nikiforov, who was supposed to have gone missing, kidnapped or killed. 

 And he was currently naked. Very naked. 

 Panicking, Yuuri averted his eyes when Victor stood up (One could probably hear the sound of his fan boy meter collapsing into bits) and his face was as red as the setting sun. 

 He was very sure Victor Nikiforov fangirls and fanboys would swoon, faint and nosebleed at this sight. 

  _COULD HE JUST COVER HIMSELF UP?!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!_

 ' Victor... W-what are you doing here?' 

 He gestured towards him dramatically, ' Hello Yuuri! I've come to find you, of course! Aren't you glad to see me?' 

This was far too much for the poor kid that used to freak out at Victor's shirtless posters.

 He would never be able to erase this scene from his memory. 

 Yuuri's hands flew to his face and he let out a girlish scream. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sorry for this mwahahahahahahh!!!! XDDDDDDDDD
> 
> YASSS I AM SOO EXCITED FOR THE EXHIBITION GALA!!!!!!! WHO'S WITH ME???????
> 
> Next chapter: Yuuri freaks out a lot.


	17. Aftershock

 The evening was like a blur to Yuuri. It was like fast-forwarding a video and you simply didn't know what had happened and why you were there in the first place.

 Victor might have gotten up from his place and asked for a towel.

 Yuuri might have given him the towel.

 And he might have stumbled out, wondering why his life was like this while his mother ushered Victor into the dining room.

 Soon enough, he was sitting in front of Victor at one of the low dining tables, watching as his mother served them bowls of katsudon. Even though his favourite food smelt tantalising, he was too shocked to pick up his chopsticks and eat. 

 Makkachin and Vicchan were quick to become friends with each other, and they were dozing off together at the side. 

 ' Wow, what is this?' Victor clapped excitedly.

 Hiroko smiled, ' It is katsudon, Yuuri's favourite food. A rice bowl with deep fried pork cutlets and scrambled egg.'

 Victor picked up a generous portion of the katsudon with the chopsticks and took a bite.

 ' VKUSNO!!!!!!!!!!!' He yelled, and proceeded to dig into the rice. ' Oh my god, is this what food in heaven tastes like? How can it be so good?'

 Hiroko was delighted and flattered, but she frowned at her son, ' Yuuri, why aren't you eating? It's your favourite food.'

 ' Er, yeah,' Yuuri jolted and blinked.

 He was about to eat, when the front door banged open, and Minako bursted into the room, shrieking. Her hair was messy and she looked as if she had run here all the way from her ballet studio.

 ' Ara, Minako-senpai,' Hiroko said in surprise, removing the beer bottles from a nearby table. ' Is everything alright?'

 ' NOTHING IS ALRIGHT,' She panted, bending down to catch her breath. ' YUURI, THEY SAID VICTOR NIKIFOROV IS MISSING, DID YOU KNOW- OH MY GOODNESS WHAT THE HECK?!!!'

 She almost fell backwards when she spotted Victor eating at the table, with Yuuri on the verge of collapsing.

 Victor glanced at her, puzzled.

 ' Oh,' Hiroko gestured at Victor. ' Vicchan is here!'

 ' Whaaaaaaaat,' Minako blinked. ' Someone explain to me. What the heck is going on?'

 ' Vicchan has travelled all the way from Russia to find Yuuri,' Hiroko beamed. ' Isn't this sweet?'

 Minako looked as if someone had asked her to swallow down a coin. 

 Hiroko introduced her, ' Vicchan, this is Minako Okukawa, Yuuri's ballet instructor. She encouraged Yuuri to sign up for that skating camp.' 

 At the name, Victor almost choked on his food and he glanced at Minako nervously.

 ' Oh, yes,' Minako nodded. ' It's  _great_ to finally see you face to face,  _Vicchan._ I am looking forward to talking to you, and let's hope we can get along just  _fine._ ' She did a small arabesque.

 The way she said that name was simply terrifying, and Victor bowed at her in terror, hoping that she would not arabesque him in the face. Minako-sensei was almost as scary as Lilia, if not scarier. 

  ' Oh, don't scare Vicchan like this!' Hiroko shielded Victor protectively, and she too was confused with Minako's deal with Victor. Of course, the two of them knew. And she looked like she was itching to do an arabesque.

 ' The reporters will be all over the place once they find out,' She warned. ' And the boy's coach will be murderous.'

 Victor nodded, imagining that Yakov would be running around and shrieking like an angry rhinoceros. He hoped Evgenia could stand him and kindly hold him down lest he started to attack people with skates. 

 ' Then we will get prepared,' Hiroko said. 

 Minako peered at Yuuri, ' Oi, Yuuri. You're so quiet this evening. What's going on?'

 Yuuri's mouth fell open and he closed it again. 

 ' You broke him, didn't you?' Minako accused.

 Hiroko defended, ' He's just shy.'

 ' U-uh yeah,' Yuuri said, taking a quick sip of hot Japanese tea. ' I... I am fine. I'm just a little bit surprised, that's all.'

 ' I hope so,' Minako sniffed. ' Well, I'm going now. I have to take care of my bar.' She waved at all of them, shot Victor a weird look and left the room.

 Victor felt like he could breath again, at last.

 They finished the rest of their dinner in silence. 

 ' Oh, Yuuri. You haven't shown me your room yet,' Victor said cheerfully. ' Can I take a look?'

 Yuuri's face started to heat up when he remembered the walls of his room, ' AHHHHHH!!!'

 Makkachin and Vicchan sat up abruptly at his shrieks. 

 ' What?'

 He got up in a flash and dashed back to his room before Victor could catch up to him. He would be SO embarrassed if Victor saw his stalkerish poster stash, and he had placed his newly signed one over his bed. 

 ' Yuuuuuri! Where are you going?'

 He slammed the door shut and started to take down his posters ( _carefully,_ of course, he wouldn't want to damage any of them). 

 ' Yuuri! Yuuri!' 

 It didn't help when Victor was banging at his door and he could hear Vicchan barking outside. 

 ' Yuuuuuri!' 

 He got all the posters and stuffed them under his bed without thinking, and nearly screamed when he noticed he had forgotten about the framed photo on his desk. 

 That went under his bed too, of course.

 ' Yuuuri!' 

 One last look around his room, and Yuuri decided that he was ready to go. 

 He opened the door, and said innocently, ' N-nothing. I just remembered I had something to do.'

 ' Something?' Victor tilted his head.

 Vicchan trotted into the room, lifted his head and gave Yuuri what seemed to be a questioning look. Like  _wow, where did all those photos with this guy's face on it go? Why are the walls so... Empty?_

He started barking, and Yuuri face-palmed himself. Of course his smart poodle was quick to notice the changes in his room.

 ' What's wrong?' Victor asked. 

 ' I don't know... Maybe he's just excited he has Makka as a friend now,' Yuuri bluffed. ' Nothing much.'

 Victor shrugged and started to observe Yuuri's room, ' Wow! It's so tidy, Yuuri! The walls are a little bit empty though.'

  Yuuri froze. 

 ' Aren't you going to post up that poster we gave you?' He asked.

 ' Uh ahaha! I forgot! Maybe later,' Yuuri scratched his head. 

 ' Yuuuuuri!!!' Victor grabbed his hand. ' LET'S HAVE A SLEEPOVER!!! WE CAN KNOW MORE ABOUT EACH OTHER.'

 ' HAHHHHH?!!!!' Yuuri shrieked, feeling faint again.

 ' Yeah, that's what teens do all the time! Sleepover! I can sleep on the floor, no worries. Hang on a second, let me bring in my mattress. Makka can sleep here too, right?' He leapt over one of Yuuri's boxes, and Makka barked happily.

 He brought in a mattress and a heap of blankets.

 Yuuri squeaked.

 And that was settled.

 The two poodles slept on Yuuri's bed, and Vicchan was snuggled against Makkachin.

 ' Yuuri!' Victor propped up his head with one arm. ' Can you take me sightseeing tomorrow? I want to know about everything in this neighbourhood. I've only been to Japan for competitions.'

 ' Eh, we can go visit Hasetsu Castle,' Yuuri said. ' I go there for warm-ups all the time.'

 ' Ohhh wait! I want to go to your rink! Is that okay?' 

 ' Erm. Sure. Did you bring your skates?'

 ' Yeah!'

 ' Well, I can take you to Hasetsu Ice Castle in the morning. But I warn you. My rink mate Yuuko will freak,' Yuuri closed his eyes.

 ' Oh, that girl? The Evgenia fan?'

 ' Yeah.'

 ' Nice. I look forward to seeing her.'

 Yawn.

 ' Erm, Victor. I wanted to ask you... Why did Minako-sensei look at you like that just now?'

 Victor choked.

 ' N-nothing!'

 ' Did you know her?'

 ' N-no. Let's just go to sleep, Yuuri. I'm tired.' 

 ' ... Okay.'  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Victor is very scared of Minako... XDDDD
> 
> Next chapter: Tour around Hasetsu!!!


	18. You are so dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I understand that Instagram doesn't exist in 2006 or something, so I have changed it to Twitter. Yeah, you'll understand when you read that part :PPP 
> 
> And I don't think a lot of people do selfies or hashtags at this time, but yeah, let's just go with it.

 If someone happened to walk past Ice Castle Hasetsu at 8 that morning, they might be thinking that a brutal murder was taking place. 

 Because Yuuko was screaming at the top of her lungs behind the rental skate shelves, jumping up and down and nearly trampling the documents that were scattered all over the floor.

 Yuuri clasped his hands and begged her to calm down before someone called the police to investigate. 

 Takeshi stuffed his fingers into his ears and winced.

 Makkachin and Vicchan seemed to notice that something exciting was going on, and started to run around, chasing each other's tails. 

 Victor was just standing there, smiling attractively, as if he had just stepped out from a photo shoot.

 ' OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!!!' Yuuko was fanning herself, her face red. ' VICTOR EFFING NIKIFOROV IS STANDING IN FRONT OF ME!!!!!!! AM I DREAMING? IS THIS SOME KIND OF A VISION? I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!!!!!!!! AND THEY SAID HE'S MISSING!!!' She proceeded to sob. 

 ' Yeah, I went through that phase before,' Yuuri nodded grimly. 

 ' Is he even real?' Takeshi unplugged his ears. ' Victor freaking Nikiforov  _cannot_ be in Japan right now.' 

 ' Of course I'm real,' Victor said, offended, and flipped his silvery ponytail over his shoulder dramatically. Yuuko swooned and sighed. Even Takeshi seemed a little amazed.

 Yuuko leaned onto Takeshi for support, breathing heavily. 

 ' I am flattered,' Victor grinned. ' You  _are_ a big fan. I like this place... Maybe I should bring Evgenia with me someday. She'd love Hasetsu as much as I do.'

 ' OH MY GOSHHHH REALLY?!!!' Yuuko gasped, hyperventilating again at the thought of her favourite female figure skater and her favourite male figure skater standing in front of her. The very idea was crazy.

 ' Yeah. Can we skate for a bit?' Yuuri asked. 

 ' Heck yeah, sure!!!' Yuuko's eyes sparkled. ' I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS I AM SEEING VICTOR NIKIFOROV SKATE IN REAL LIFE??? I CAN DIE HAPPY!!!!!!!!'

 ' Yeah, I also went through this phase,' Yuuri sighed, taking out his skates from the skate bag. 

 In five minutes, the two of them were on the ice.

 ' Hmm, it's a nice and quiet place,' Victor looked around. ' Good environment.'

 Yuuko was silently screaming into her hand.

 ' Well, to thank you all for your warm welcome,' Victor said. ' I can skate one of my old programs for you. Which one do you like?'

 ' Erm, your last year's SP?' Yuuri suggested. ' Yuuko and I enjoyed it.'

 ' YEAH!!!' Yuuko's eyes lit up. ' We actually have the music... Uh. Because Yuuri and I like to skate to your programs.' Yuuri's face heated up at the mention of it.

 ' Ohhh, so this is why I can see myself in Yuuri!' Victor smiled and Yuuri was ready to collapse onto the ice again.

 ' Yeah yeah,' Yuuko winked. ' He says you inspire him.'

 ' Yuuuuuuuuuuuu-chan!!!' Yuuri whined.

 ' Fine, fine,' Yuuko was still smiling. 

 ' Please go ahead with the music,' Victor said, and skated to the centre. Yuuri exited the ice to join Yuuko and Takeshi at the side.

 The program was still breathtakingly beautiful, and to make it even better, Victor changed his Triple Toe Loops and Salchows to Quads.

 Aaand Yuuko was sobbing uncontrollably again. Takeshi was groaning, offering her support. 

 ' I-I never thought I would be able to see Q-Quads in real life!!!' She wailed and added, ' not that I don't think you will not be able to achieve this in the future, Yuuri.'

 ' Tada,' Victor finished off his program with a Triple Lutz, and smiled at them . ' That's probably it.'

 The three of them clapped enthusiastically, and even though Takeshi wasn't that much of a Victor Nikiforov fan, he was still looking at Victor in admiration.

 ' We should go!!! Yuuri, you said you are going to show me around Hasetsu!!!' Victor stepped off the ice too quickly. ' We can come back next morning. See ya!'

 Yuuko squeaked, ' G-great!!! We will be here.'

 Takeshi smacked himself in the face.

 ***

 Yuuri took Victor up the stairs leading to Hasetsu Castle.

 ' Wow!!!' Victor looked around. ' This is amazing!!! I haven't seen anything quite like this before. Oh, so what is this?' He was pointing at the Hasetsu Castle.

 ' This is the Hasetsu Castle I was talking to you about,' Yuuri said. ' Um, inside is _ninja house_.' 

 ' NINJAS!!! REALLY?!!!' Victor squealed, grabbing Makkachin. ' I NEED TO TAKE A PHOTO OF THIS. WAIT, I NEED A NICE SELFIE.'

  ' Victor, is that a good idea-'

 *Snap*

 ' Okaaay, I'm done!!!' Victor sang. ' Where else should we go?'

 ' Erm. We could go visit Minako-sensei. Her ballet studio is pretty close,' Yuuri suggested.

 ' Er.'

 ' Come on. You aren't afraid of her, are you?'

 ' Huh? What are you talking about? Of course not,' Victor sweated.

 ' Okay! So let's go,' Yuuri smiled adorably.

 ***

  Thank God Minako-sensei didn't skin Victor alive, but she still eyed him from time to time as if he was trouble. 

 Victor spotted a Benois de la Danse trophy on one of her cabinets, and her respect (as well as his fear) for the former ballerina grew.

 They spent a long time in her studio, and Yuuri even showed him some of his ballet moves. Minako-sensei dished out some snacks for them, and Victor took a liking to the matcha flavoured pocky and mini egg puddings immediately. He should buy some for his rink mates and Yakov upon his return. They would like it. 

  When it was nearly evening, Yuuri returned back to Yutopia with him. And Victor had a go on his computer because he had been away from his Facebook and Twitter accounts for too long.

 Aha, they still thought he was missing.

 Hmm... Should he tell them that he was save and alive, and not dying somewhere in a ditch?

 Yeah. Probably.

 

 **Victor Nikiforov** @v_nikiforov

 Hasetsu Castle!!! ´♡` #ninja

 Within minutes, his inbox was completely flooded by replies and notifications of retweets.

  **Sk8ter gurl** @lutzed

 Omggggg Victor is alive!!! 

  **Official Victor Nikiforov Fan Club**  @vnikiforov_fc

 Thank god Victor is safe!!! @ **v_nikiforov** are you in Japan?

  **arigato-woof** @puppiesarecute

 Yep. He's in Japan. That's Hasetsu.

  **Nikiforoved** @nikiforov-fan

 Whaaaaaat @ **evgenia-v** did you know?

  **Evgenia Vasilieva** @evgenia-v

 Ummmmmm @ **nikiforov-fan** Maybe??? *shrugs*

  **Yakov Feltsman** @yakovfeltsman

 AND YOU DIDN'T BOTHER TO TELL ME YOUNG LADY @ **evgenia-v**

 **Evgenia Vasilieva** @evgenia-v

 Ummmmmmm. @ **yakovfeltsman**

 **Yakov Feltsman** @yakovfeltsman

 AND YOU @ **v_nikiforov** HOW DARE YOU SNEAK AWAY WITHOUT TELLING ME!!?????????????? YOU ARE IN A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TROUBLE BOY!!!!

  **Victor Nikiforov** @v_nikiforov

 La la la. Can't hear you. La la la. 

  **Georgi Popovich** @passionate_romantic

 Wow. Way to go, buddy @ **v_nikiforov**

  **Alexei Skates** @aaaalexei 

 @ **v_nikiforov** Good luck. You'll need it. 

  **Sofia Alexeeva** @sofi-sofi

 @ **v_nikiforov** Glad to know you're fine. But yeah... Good luck. 

  **Lidiya Lutz** @lutzismybro

 @ **v_nikiforov __**You were a good friend. Will miss you.

  **Konstantin on Skates** @konstantinnnn

 @ **v_nikiforov** RIP bro I will miss you.

  **Pyotr the Peter** @pytor-is-my-name

 @ **v_nikiforov** Ahahahaha nice one!!!!!!!!!! Yeah. Good luck.

  **Pytor the Peter** @pytor-is-my-name

 Yurio asked me to leave you a message.

  **Pyotr the Peter** @pyotr-is-my-name

' Ahahahahahahaha have fun while you can because you are going to DIEEEEEE when you come back!!!!'

  **Evgenia Vasilieva** @evgenia-v

 @ **v_nikiforov** Yeah. I told you so. Good luck, buddy. 

  **Evgenia Vasilieva** @evgenia-v

 Mila also left you a message.

  **Evgenia Vasilieva** @evgenia-v

 ' Buy me some snacks!!! I want candies!'

  **Victor Nikiforov** @v_nikiforov

 @ **evgenia-v** Sureeeeeeeeeeeee. 

  **Georgi Popovich** @passionate_romantic

 He's totally ignoring us. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahahaha Yakov is raging!!!!!!!
> 
> Next chapter: Goodbye again. And the consequences....


	19. Goodbyes Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahem. I played around with emails... Not pleased with the format... But yeah....

 Eventually, Victor did have to return to St.Petersburg to claim his punishment (cough cough). 

 Yuuri's dad drove them to the airport, so they could say goodbye. Of course, Yuuri had to show him around the candy shops to buy Mila's candies, because she kept asking Evgenia to bug him on Twitter.

 That girl really had a sweet tooth.

 ' So, it's goodbye again,' Victor said, keeping a hand on all his stuff. Makkachin was already in his flight cage, and he was whining sadly at Yuuri.

 ' Do I need to wish you luck? Yakov seems pretty angry,' Yuuri said nervously. He had seen all the crazy Twitter posts, and it seemed like Yakov really wanted to wear Victor's skin.

 ' Nah. I'll be fine. Yurio is just over-exagerrating,' He waved him off. ' Relax!!! But I will really miss you, Yuuri. Work hard on your programs!'

 They gave each other a hug. 

 ' Vicchan, you're going to be late,' Hiroko reminded the boys.

 ' Oh yes,' Victor smiled at her. ' Thank you so much for taking care of me!!!'

 ' Anything for you, my dear! I haven't thanked you for taking care of my Yuuri in Russia,' Hiroko beamed at Victor. ' Remember to visit whenever possible.'

  _Oh my god mom, Yakov will kill him._

He waved at them one last time and disappeared behind the gate.

 

***

 Dear Yuuri,

 Whoohoo!!! We are finally emailing each other. This is wonderful!!! Of course I would prefer to talk to you face to face, but yeah... It's better than not talking to you at all. ´♡`

 As you may have deduced from my mail, I am alive and well, yay!!! Yeah, Yakov is angry and he is making me practice until my feet are falling off. This is not very nice. 

 Mila and the others enjoyed the candies, especially the matcha flavoured Kit Kat. She wants to visit Japan soon, if her parents allow her to.

 Anyways... I really need to work on my programs. My first GP qualifier will be coming up in around a month and Yakov expects me to get a gold medal in it. Like seriously, he's giving me so much stress. Remember to watch it on television, will you? And tell me what you think.

 Love, Victor 

 

 Dear Victor,

 Sorry for the late reply! I am busy with school work, ballet and skating. Hope you can understand.

 Do take some rest after training!!! Don't stress yourself out. :((( 

 Glad Mila enjoyed the food! Tell me when she visits Japan, I would love to show her around. 

 Your first GP qualifier is coming up soon, and I will be watching it at Ice Castle Hasetsu with Yuuko and Takeshi. Looking forward to it! I'm sure you will do fine. 

Love, Yuuri 

PS: How's Yurio?

 

Dear Yuuri,

 It's okay! Man, I'm quite busy too.

 Rostelecom Cup is coming up in a week, and I am actually feeling stressed. No kidding. Even Victor Nikiforov feels stressed. I'm only human... So... Ha. 

 Yeah, I need to get off the Internet. Yakov and Evgenia are glaring. Byeee!!! Talk to you later. 

 Love, Victor

PS: He's doing fine. As in... Yakov caught him bullying Denis the other day. Mila thinks it's funny. Evgenia doesn't think so. 

 

 Dear Victor,

 Congratulations on getting silver at the Rostelecom Cup!!!!!!! Your FS was so beautiful and we were screaming so much in the television room. That Quad Salchow at the end is FANTASTIC. I wish I can do a nice Salchow, but it's like my Achilles Heel or something.

 Lessons with the JSF assigned coach is fun. Luckily, she likes my Triple Axel, and is teaching me how to put it into a combination. They are seriously going to let me participate in the JGP next year, and I can't wait! Hope I won't embarrass myself, haha!

 Good luck with your next qualifier! It's coming up next month, right?

 Love, Yuuri

 

 Dear Yuuri,

 Awwww you're so sweet!!! ´♡` Yes, I will be participating in the Cup of China. I really want to try the Chinese hot pot. Georgi says it's really really good, so I can't wait to go to China. 

 Really? This is wonderful!!! You're going to qualify, no problem. But do pay attention to your PCS. Sometimes, you focus too much on nailing the jumps, and your presentation becomes a bit sloppy. Just my opinion. 

 Makkachin misses you and Vicchan :((( I want to come back to Japan. 

  Love, Victor

 

 Dear Victor,

 Congratulations on getting gold AND qualifying for the GPF!!! IT'S YOUR FIRST GOLD IN YOUR SENIOR DEBUT!!! We cried. 

 Ohhhhh, thanks for the advice! I do tend to get nervous when I do the jumps... Sooooo... 

 Vicchan and I also miss you... But listen to your coach. :PPP 

Love, Yuuri

 

 Dear Yuuri,

 Happy belated birthday!!! I'm sorry I missed it. :((( 

Mannnnn the competition was tougher than I have envisioned. The Spanish skater gave me a hard time at the SP, but thank god my FS came out just fine. The Finals is going to be tough, but I AM READY... >:D

 Something funny happened yesterday at the rink... Georgi said that Anya had winked at him... He was sobbing all over the ice and his face was stuck... It took four skaters (Evgenia, Alexei, Sofia and Pyotr) to get him off. Mila and Yurio were just laughing their heads off at the side. Wish I had taken a photo.......

 Love, Victor

 

 Dear Victor,

 It's okay. 

 Wowwwww.... His face got stuck because of Anya??? That was unfortunate. And dangerous.

 

 My exams are done... So I can watch the GPF!!! So excited!!!! You can do it!

 Love, Yuuri

 

 Dear Yuuri,

 Well... So I got silver. Should I be disappointed? Yakov thinks it's great. Evgenia is so happy. But wow... I've been getting gold since I had my Junior debut, and this is such a downgrade.

 I hope I can redeem myself at the Russian Nationals and Europeans. 

 Love, Victor

 

 Dear Victor,

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 You kidding me? A Grand Prix silver!!! Of course you should not be disappointed!!! You broke your personal best!!! 

 (Yuuko and I have been screaming for days)

 But yeah... The Russian Nationals should be easy for you. Don't stress yourself too much though. 

 Love, Yuuri

 

 Dear Yuuri,

 Well, finally, gold at the Russian Nationals and Europeans. Evgenia was hugging me and crying at the end of the medal ceremony... I think the ISU took pictures of that and posted it on their Twitter.

 I met this interesting boy at the Europeans! His name is Christophe Giacometti, and he is a new skater. Looked up his videos. Hmm... I will be facing him at the World Championships. He might become a tough opponent in the future. 

 Also, I think I am obsessed with blue roses now. 

 Love, Victor

 

 Dear Victor,

 Congratzzzzz :DDD I knew you could do it!!!

 Oh... The one you tossed a blue rose to at the end of the medal ceremony? I think I saw some of his videos before, and you are right. He's good.

 The blue rose crown looks really good on you! It can be your trademark. :PPP 

Love, Yuuri 

 

 Dear Yuuri,

 Awwwww thanks!!! 

 I cannot stay on the Internet for too long because Yakov is glaring  _again._

Watch the World Championships, will you? 

Love, Victor

 

 Dear Victor,

 Congratulations on getting silver!!! :DDDDDD Don't be disappointed. It's really really really good. And...

 AHHHHHH I WILL BE PARTICIPATING THE JGP NEXT YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT IS REAL!!!!!!!!!!!! AND THEY'RE GETTING ME A TEAM JAPAN JACKET...........

Love, Yuuri

 

 Dear Yuuri,

 THIS IS WONDERFUL!!!!! I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!!!!!

 I can't believe this is the end of another season. Wow. Time flies. Yakov is already talking to me about my plans for the next season. Can't the man just let me take a break........ WAHHHHHH!!! 

 Love, Victor 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Time Skip to 2 years later


	20. Cut short

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahem. 
> 
> Chris is going to make an appearance. At last.

  _2 years later_

_2008 World Championships_

' Wow, a grand slam for reigning champion Evgenia Vasilieva! She has broken her own FS record from two years ago, and takes her fifth World gold. Three cheers to Evgenia Vasilieva of Russia!'

 Evgenia skated up to the front with a large bouquet of flowers, her sparkly white costume blending up nicely with the shining white light from overhead and the golden ribbon in her braided hairdo matching the gold medal around her neck.

 Victor clapped along with the others, delighted for her fourth win. He had won silver in the World Championships again, and he was starting to get a little annoyed. He had been talking to Yakov about adding a new Quad to his roster to raise his TES, probably the Quad Flip, because no one had attempted or ratified it yet.

 Also, he knew that Chris was trying to train the Quad Lutz. Wouldn't want the both of them to have the same signature move. 

 Next to him, Mila sighed, ' She is so pretty. I wish I can be as elegant as her on the ice. Her step sequences tell a nice story. Her TES is already high with the Triple Axel on her roster... She's basically unbeatable!' 

 Time flew past quickly, and Mila was 11 years old already. In 2 years, she would be officially joining the Russian National Team and compete in the Junior division. Yakov thought it would be good for her to follow them to the World Championships and experience what it was like to be a real competitive figure skater. 

 Victor nodded, ' I know. Not even the men can beat her PCS. She's the best out there.'

 ' I know someone who can beat her in the future,' Mila piped. ' Yuuri!'

 Victor's heart went aflutter at the thought of the Japanese skater. They had been exchanging mails with each other quite frequently. He had not seen him in person for 2 years, because of Yakov, his competitive skating career and bla bla. Yuuri was also terribly busy, because he had been trying hard to get to the senior division as soon as possible. But he was already a big thing in Japan, having won gold at the Junior Japanese Nationals and bronze at the JWC. Most people were hoping that he would rise up to the top in a few years' time.

 ' You are _pining_ ,' She noted.

  ( Blame Georgi for teaching her words like that.)

 ' No I'm not,' Victor said. 

 ' But you  _are_ ,' Mila whispered dramatically. ' Why can't you just go and find him if you miss him that much?' 

 ' Because Yakov had me in chains!!!' Victor eyed her severely. 

 Mila scoffed, ' That's an excuse. You could have pulled a Yurio move.' 

 In January, Yurio tried to sneak back to Moscow to find his grandfather. Of course, he was caught at the entrance by Alexei and the others before he could threaten to go to the airport, and was swearing and screaming and kicking at all of them.

 Later, Yakov lectured him on the matter of swearing.

 The 7 year old simply gave him one of his death glares.

 She continued thoughtfully, ' You could visit Hasetsu in your off-season.'

 ' B-but...' Victor buried his face in his hands. ' I need to work on my Quad Flip.'

 Mila said, ' Excellent! It's a choice between your Yuuri and the Flip. Take your pick.'

 ' He's not  _my_ Yuuri,' Victor said, flustered. ' ARGHHHH!!!!!! WHY DO I HAVE TO BE SO BUSY!!!!!!!'

 ' Not my problem, ooh look! Evgenia is waving at us!' Mila jumped up and down in her seat, waving back at Evgenia. 

 Victor wilted into his seat, ' What even is the purpose of becoming a Living Legend when you aren't allowed to have friends or life? This is annoying.'

 After smiling and waving at fans for ten minutes, Evgenia and the two other medalists left the ice for a press conference at the back of the rink. Victor and Mila left the spectators' area to join their coach.

 ' Great job, Zhenya,' Yakov handed Evgenia her Team Russia jacket and sneakers. He was only that soft to her. Once, Yurio made a comment of him playing favourites (he didn't mean it  _that_ way, it was just a normal question), and Yakov glared at them, ' That's entirely because Evgenia is the  _only_ skater that actually listens to my instructions and she is actually respectful towards her elders.' No one dared to challenge it, because they knew it was true.

 ' Congratulations!!!' Mila threw his arms around Evgenia for a hug.

 ' Awwww, you're sweet,' Evgenia hugged Mila. 

 ' Ms. Vasilieva,' An official told her politely. ' The press conference is this way. Please follow me.'

 ' Thank you,' She shrugged on her jacket and followed the official. 

  Victor had been on a press conference for so many times, and he always found it quite tedious. Most of the questions were the same, while some of them were slightly more intrusive. Still, he smiled charmingly for the cameras and answered as best as he could.

 People liked his charming persona. And he tried to keep it up even though he knew that wasn't him.

 Evgenia was an expert in handling press conferences, because sometimes, she enjoyed being on it. She was funny, charming, witty and natural. Sponsorships, reporters and officials simply loved her. 

 Victor held Mila's hand, and stood at the back with Yakov.

 Evgenia, being the gold medalist, sat in between the Canadian and French skaters, who took silver and bronze respectively.

 The host began the press conference by congratulating the three medalists with a humorous joke, and everyone laughed. Then, they asked the floor for questions.

 Immediately, Evgenia was bombarded with questions about her training regime and her consistency, and she just answered all of them humbly with a sweet smile.

  _She is a social butterfly without trying to,_  Victor sighed. 

 One reporter with a thick accent asked, ' Evgenia, we understand that you are in a winning streak, and we are looking forward to your future career. What expectations do you have for your next season?' 

 To everyone's surprise, she laughed nervously at this question. After a while, she admitted, ' Actually... I've made a decision. This competition will be my last. I am officially retiring from competitive figure skating after this season. I would like to thank my coach, all of my rink mates and fans for supporting me throughout these years.'

 The reporters stirred in confusion.

 Mila gasped loudly. 

 Victor glanced at Yakov in horror, expecting him to be as horrified and shocked as he was, but the Russian coach simply nodded at him calmly. 

 WHAT.

 The rest of the press conference was quite crazy and messy, because all of the reporters were just stunned by this sudden announcement. The five-time Ladies' Singles World Champion couldn't simply be retiring so soon. She was just 23 years old.

 Even when the host announced that the press conference had ended, reporter surged forward to crowd around her, demanding for explanations. Yakov had to push them apart and fish her out of the mess, and she didn't even look shaken. In fact, she looked a bit relieved.

 Victor's voice was shaking, ' You didn't tell me you are going to retire.'

 ' Sorry. It was my decision,' She looked down at her sneakers. ' I only talked to Coach Yakov about it.'

 ' You are just 23 years old!' Victor said, clenching his fists. ' You're too young to retire!' He was almost tearing up, because his older sister couldn't be retiring so soon. He would be left alone.

 She said softly, ' It's about time. I've been wanting to travel around the world for a long time and it's time to let go of skating and follow my other dreams.' 

  ' But you can't leave me,' He whispered.

 She placed her hands on his shoulders, ' Vitya. You will have to carry on without me. I'm sure you can do it, because you are strong.'

  _But what if I am not strong enough?_

  Evgenia was his only family. And now she was leaving too. 

 ***

  ' Yo, I heard the news. The Ice Princess is retiring?' 

 Victor was lying on his bed in the hotel room, phone in hand. He felt horrible. 

  Sometimes, Victor found Chris's voice comforting. At least he had a companion who was always willing to listen to his rants, even though he might be super duper flirtatious at times. 

 ' Yes,' He said dully. 

 After a short pause, Chris said, ' I can tell that you are not taking it well... But you can't do anything. It's Evgenia's choice.'

 Victor didn't answer.

 Chris sighed, ' Look, bro, I know you are sad. I don't really know how to comfort people... But I'm with you. Let's go out and have fun, so you can forget about your troubles! What about going out for a drink and pole dancing?'

 Victor sulked, ' I am not pole dancing.'

 ' Really? That's a shame. I really want to drag Masumi with me, though. What do you think about it?'

 Ah, Masumi. He was an ice dancer and Chris's bestie. 

 ' Yeah. Go and have fun. Really, I know you are sad and stuff, but don't do anything crazy! Remember the Europeans banquet last year? You still need to go to the exhibition tomorrow. We still need to have a showdown of who is the hottest on the ice,' Chris said. ' _À plus tard!' _

_' À plus tard,' _ Victor said, feeling even worse. ' Don't drink too much.'

 He had never felt so lonely in his life before. Well, technically he had a biological family, but he didn't care much about them. 

 Sure, Chris was a great companion in competitions, Yakov was an excellent coach and Mila was a sweet little girl, but after all, Evgenia was the only one that really understood him and was willing to talk to him about anxiety, stress and stuff he normally wouldn't talk about.

 She was really his older sister. 

 He continued to skate because of her encouragements.

 He really didn't know how he was going to continue without her support.

  _Don't do anything crazy!_

He spotted a pair of scissors on the table. 

 He was intending to do something crazy to show how lonely he was.

 ***

 The next morning, a Victor Nikiforov with choppy shoulder length hair showed up at Chris's hotel room.

 ' Oh, my god,' Chris was shirtless and looked pretty tired after a night of drinking. ' You really did something crazy!'  

 ' I needed a change,' Victor shrugged. 

 ' Great, so you are undergoing the '  _I feel so sad and depressed so I need a major change and change up my hair'_ phase. Just great,' Chris dragged him inside and tutted. ' Ugh. Thank god you aren't going for the career of becoming a stylist or a barber. Did you just chop up your hair?'

  ' Maybe,' Victor sat down.

 Chris was nearly fainting, ' Look at the state you are in! Imagine the headlines, Victor Nikiforov, 19, the heart throb of many girls, looks ugly after a disastrous hair cut?!' 

 ' I thought _you_ are the heart throb of girls,' Victor said drily. 

 ' Ah, _non_ , _non_ ,' Chris was already examining the damage. ' I am the sexy star of many girls' dreams. And you,  _mon cher amie,_ is the heart throb of the girls. That's different. Tut tut tut. You could have just dyed your hair blonde! Fans will be crying! Quote from the latest fashion magazine...  _Victor Nikiforov's silver hair is like the winter moonlight woven into delicate strands._ IT'S ALL GONE NOW!!!' 

 ' Strangely poetic,' Victor snorted.

 ' Great!!! How am I going to fix this mess before the exhibition,' Chris was having a beauty crisis. 

 Victor pulled at his shortened hair, ' Is it that bad? I don't think it is too bad.'

 ' IT IS,' Chris found a pair of scissors. ' _D'accord_. I have a solution. But I think I will have to cut more of your hair in order to make it work.'

 ' Do I need to change it?' Victor whined. 

 ' What? Then why the heck did you come down to find me if you hated your hairstyle?' Chris wielded the scissors. ' This is House Giacometti, the beauty salon. And I, Master Giacometti, thinks shoulder-length hair doesn't suit your profile.'

  Victor said, rubbing at his temples. ' I don't care anyways.'

 ' I will do what I must,' Chris said, and started to cut off more of his hair.

 Silver strands fell to the floor.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *dodges tomatoes and cookies*
> 
> SORRY ABOUT THAT!!! 
> 
> *dodges more eggs and bananas*


	21. Reunions are necessary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you guys prefer Victor with long hair or short hair haha

 ' VITYA!!! WHY DID YOU SKIP THE GALA REHEARSAL?!!!! YOU HAVEN'T BEEN SKATING YOUR EXHIBITION PROGRAM SINCE THE EUROPEANS AND YOU ARE GOING TO EMBARRASS YOURSELF!!!' Yakov pounded at Victor's door. ' I SWEAR TO GOD, THE ALL OF YOU ARE KILLING ME! FIRST, I NEED TO TAKE CARE OF ZHENYA'S INTERVIEWS, THEN, AN ISU OFFICIAL CAUGHT MILA ARM WRESTLING A SKATER IN THE HOTEL LOBBY, AND ALEXEI CALLED JUST NOW TO TELL ME THAT YURA HAD DRAWN TIGERS ALL OVER THE RINK WALL AND EQUIPMENTS WHILE GEORGI IS CREEPING THE SYNCHRONISED SKATERS OUT!'

 Victor swung the door open, and Yakov almost had a heart attack on the spot.

 Most of his trademark silvery hair was gone. Instead, it was cut short, and bangs were arranged to cover his right eye in a stylish way. 

 Well, Chris the Master of Beauty had outdone himself. This new hairstyle made him look more like a rock star.

 ' WHAT'S WRONG WITH Y-YOUR HAIR?!' Yakov pointed shakily at him.

 Victor frowned, ' What? I thought you have been trying to make me cut it for ages. Aren't you supposed to be pleased?'

 ' YEAH,' Yakov thundered. ' I thought long hair would interfere with your skating, and you didn't allow Zhenya to help you braid it up! What's with the sudden change though? Why now?'

 Victor huffed, ' I wanted a change. Besides, I think girls would loooooooooove this hairstyle more. It makes me look hotter and more mature.' To prove his point, he tossed his hair band into the bin. 

 A vein throbbed in Yakov's forehead.

 ' I don't care about your new rock star hairstyle or what your fangirls think!' He growled. ' What are you going to do with your exhibition!? What are you going to say to the media about your unannounced image change? I thought your PR team is responsible for your image!'

 ' I'll be fine. I'll improvise if I forget any of my step sequences!' Victor winked at him.

 ' I don't care. The gala is starting in two hours, and you had better get down here in time,' Yakov glared at him.

 

 ***

   An hour before the gala, Victor stuffed himself into a Team Russia hoodie to hide his new haircut, grabbed his skate bag and went down to the official rink. 

  He got dressed in his surprisingly plain exhibition costume, only consisting of a dark shirt and pants, and put the hoodie on again. Chris whistled when he saw him (half of his costume was transparent mesh) walk past, ' Woah there. Are you hiding my handiwork? Is it that ugly?'

 ' No, it looks good,' Victor said, adjusting his hood to hide the silver bangs sticking out. ' I just don't want to cause an internet war before the exhibition, that's all.'

 Chris said, amused, ' You  _are_ going to cause an internet war anyways, Mr. Nikiforov. Like, fans will definitely miss your long hair, the blue rose crown thing won't really work anymore, but this new hairstyle makes you look hotter, even. The fandom will be divided. And oh, they'll be speculating why you cut it. Ha, they aren't going to expect that you cut it because you are too sad and betrayed about Evgenia's-' He stopped abruptly when he saw Victor's evil look.

 ' Okay, okay, I'm not going to go there,' Chris sighed. ' Anyways, the fans are going to  _freak_. Have you practiced your exhibition by the way?'

 ' Nope, not since the Europeans,' Victor said shamelessly. 

 Chris's eyes widened, ' WHAT. THEN WHY DID YOU SKIP THE REHEARSAL?'

 ' I don't feel like going to the rehearsal?' Victor said. 

 ' Wait. You aren't mad at Evgenia, aren't you?' Chris grabbed the arm of his friend. ' I bumped into her after the final rehearsal. She's worried that you are mad at her.' 

 ' I'm not mad at Evgenia. It's just... I'm pissed. I made such a big fuss out of it yesterday. And I cut my hair because I feel like it's the end of an era and I need a change,' Victor admitted, and he added in his head,  _also I feel lonely and sad. It reminds me that I will have to face my future alone. I don't want to think about it. '_ Look, I'll talk to her later. But not now.'

 ' You  _are_ being dramatic,' Chris said in awe, and shook his head. ' But yeah, that's the Victor Nikiforov I know. Flashy and extra. Come on. You don't want to miss Nicolas Garcia's exhibition. He is dressed in a pink chicken suit.'

 Victor laughed.

  The two friends walked to the rink together, and the lights were already switched off for dramatic effect. Overhead, an official was announcing the exhibition entries, and the first pair to perform was the ice dancing duo in seventh place. Hot pink lights danced over the ice and the audience screamed excitedly. 

 Over the crazy hip hop music, Chris asked, ' When are you going to take off that hoodie?' They were nodding slightly to the music. 

 ' Not yet,' Victor replied.

 ' Victor!!!' Mila bounded towards him. ' Victor!!! Where have you been?' Yakov wasn't with her.

 ' Mila,' He exclaimed. ' How... This is a competitor's area! Where is Yakov?'

 ' I sneaked away from him, of course,' She said. ' He caught me arm wrestling with an older skater at the lobby, and dragged me off in the other direction. Ha! When he was talking to another coach, I just escaped from the side! Cool, right? Why are you wearing this hoodie? I thought you didn't wear hoodies.' 

 Chris coughed loudly.

 ' Um, you'll know later,' He said awkwardly. ' Oh, great, Yakov is coming over here...' 

 The Russian coach dragged a screaming and kicking Mila off, and she was strong for her age and attempted to flee. 

 ' Well, she's going to be a feisty one when she grows up,' Chris blinked. ' I think I saw her arm wrestling the 16 year old Korean skater just now. She almost won.'

 ' Yeah... She's able to wrestle kids twice her size when she's 9,' Victor said fondly. ' We hope she can do Quads soon.'

 Chris snorted, ' That's a lot to wish for. Well well well, what is Yakov going to do with all of you?'

 Meanwhile, Nicolas Garcia was really stuck in a  _pink_ chicken suit, and they had a good laugh over it. How he managed to do a Triple Axel in that bulky suit was anyone's guess, and feathers were all over the ice. 

 ' It's almost my turn,' Chris said, already removing his skate guards. ' I think you're after the Ladies Singles silver medalist. 

 ' Enjoy,' Victor sighed. Chris liked to be flirtatious on the ice. His Sex Bomb routine last year was especially noteworthy, because around 50 fans got a nosebleed and 80 fans had fainted. Most of them flocked to the medical room and the first aid team was insanely busy.

 This time, it was nowhere as impressive as the Sex Bomb routine, but still, many of the fans swooned at the sight of Chris. 

 He was panting and huffing breathlessly after his routine (which was some kind of a skit), and went past Victor to change.

 When the silver medalist of the Ladies Singles was almost done with her routine, Victor pulled the hoodie over his head, ready to spark off the next world war.

 Indeed.

 '  _Please welcome silver medalist of Men's Singles, Victor Nikiforov of Russia!'_

 Once he got onto the ice, some people started to scream and point. Oh yeah, he's  _new_ hairstyle.

 Some of the fans flopped onto the floor. Many more started to take photos. Some of them started to cry ( _what the heck, is it that ugly?_ ).

 He flashed them all a wink, brushing at his new bangs, and more of them fainted.

 At the side of the rink, Yakov also fainted.

 He did have to improvise most of his routine because he had conveniently forgotten about it, but the fandom probably cared more about his new haircut than his actual routine, so he got away with it just fine. Not many people noticed that he had switched out an entire segment of his step sequences for some hydroblading because they were too busy mourning the 'death' of his long hair and swooning over his new haircut.

 The fandom was half-wrecked by the time he was done, and as he lazily skated over to the entrance, the gold medalist raised an eyebrow at him.

 Victor gave him a high-five.

 Evgenia was standing behind the men's gold medalist, and she looked so surprised.

 ' Hiya,' Victor said softly. 

 ' You changed your hair,' that was all she said.

 He shrugged.

  After the Singles gold medalists were done with their routines, Chris grabbed him onto the ice for the all-skaters routine (and since he didn't go to the rehearsal he had no idea what was going on half of the time). 

 The fans were still going nuts and the other skaters were too stunned to care whether Victor was stealing all their spotlight.

 He waved half-heartedly at his fans, and he spotted a familiar face in the front row. 

 Yuuri.

 Crap. 

 The 16 year old boy was still having trouble picking up his jaw from the floor.

 Oh, boy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note, I accidentally came across Evgeni Plushenko's Sex Bomb routine the other day and couldn't stop laughing....... XDDDDDDD


	22. New arrangements

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiiii I am back from my vacation.... ;DDDD 
> 
> And now tests are falling all over me....

 Victor got off the ice too quickly after his exhibition, and even ditched the all-skaters photo. Chris wasn't too happy about it, and he shot him a glare when he caught him leaving. 

 Yuuri had managed to clamber out of the spectators stand, and he was holding a poodle plushy. He still looked pretty shocked, as if Victor had sprouted a second head on his shoulders.

 ' What,' Victor said, trying to play it off.

 Yuuri spluttered, almost squishing the poodle plushy to 'death', ' W-what even happened to your hair?!'

 ' I cut it. And Chris gave me a new hairstyle'

 ' Whaaaaaaaat.'

 Yuuri's reaction was a cross between horror and surprise, and Victor couldn't blame him. All Victor fan club members had one thing in common: They worshipped his long silvery hair.

 He opened his mouth and closed it again, deciding what else to say, but he couldn't come up with anything except for staring.

 Victor took the opportunity to ask him, ' What are you even doing here? I thought you are supposed to be in Hasetsu?'

 Yuuri flushed, ' Minako-sensei thought I deserved a break after the JWC! So she bought tickets and stuff to the Senior Worlds as a reward for a good season, and I watched all of the events.'

 Victor whined, ' And you didn't even bother to tell me? How mean, Yuuri! I missed you lots! You could have told me earlier, and we could have had lots of fun by pranking Yakov!'

 ' This is exactly why I didn't tell you,' Yuuri sighed. ' I knew you would be ditching. For the sake of Yakov's health, I decided to not approach you until the end of the exhibitions... But guess you spotted me first.'

 ' How mean!' Victor feigned hurt and ran a hand through his newly cut bangs.

 ' Oh, I didn't mean it,' Yuuri panicked, becoming extremely flustered. ' Please don't get mad!'

 ' Naw, I'm not angry at you, Yuuri. I'm just miffed, that's all. Now that you are here,' He beamed at him. ' We need to catch up with each other! I missed you a lot!!! Let's find Mila, ditch Yakov and have fun together.'

 ' Is that a good idea?' Yuuri questioned. ' I don't want Yakov to get angry.' 

 Victor was already pulling his hand, ' Come on! He won't know! We just need to return on time for the banquet. Mila should be near here...'

 ' What about Evgenia?' Yuuri yelped, almost tripping over to keep up with Victor's pace. How he managed to run in his skates (blade guards on) was a mystery, because Yuuri always had to trek carefully on his skates.

 ' She'll need to be talking to her sponsors, making explanations and bla bla bla,' Victor answered, shifting through crowds to look for the tiny red-headed girl. 

 ' Oh yeah,' Yuuri said, pushing up his dorky blue glasses with one hand and squinting in the dimness. ' She's retiring, right? Isn't it too early for her to retire?'

 ' I know,' Victor said grimly, and he brightened up when he saw Mila standing next to one of the rink technicians. ' Mila!!! Over here.'

 ' Victor?' She bounded over to him and spoke rapidly to him without pausing. ' So here you are! I thought I lost you on the ice... And that's why you wore hoodie! I knew something was wrong. You cut your hair? Really? I thought you liked your hair. Yuri will be so shocked, I bet he's going to ruin your blade guards. But well, this new hairstyle suits you. Makes you cooler, and oh!!! Yuuri!!! You're here!'

 She smiled sweetly at him.

 ' Yeah, Victor found me,' He said sheepishly.

 ' Great! Everyone's here, let's go out and have fun,' Mila clapped her hands. 

 ' Ehhhhh?! Are you sure-'

 ' Come on, Yuuri!!! We haven't seen each other for two years!!! You need to tell me about your skating!!!'

 ' Let's go Yuuri! What Yakov doesn't know won't hurt him.'

 

***

  **ONLINE FIGURE SKATING FORUM:**

**Admin Axel:** Okay guys!!! We have opened a new forum for the World Championships. Feel free to discuss and remember to keep the comments civilised! Any offensive comments will be deleted and users will be suspended. Have fun! 

 **Nikiforov-fan:** So... I think we are all here to discuss Victor's new hair cut?

 **Sophie Nikiforova:** I CRIEDDDDDDDDDD NOOOOOOOOOOOO HE CAN'T CUT HIS HAIR

  **Joe Skygawker:** NOOOOOOOOOOO THAT'S NOT TRUE THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  **Skating Zamboni:** lmao, has this forum become a 'Victor Nikiforov hair cut rant'? (Not that I have anything against it, 'cos I am as surprised as you are.)

  **We Love Zhenya & Vitya: **NOOOOOOOOOOOO FIRST UP ZHENYA IS ANNOUNCING HER RETIRING, AND THE NEXT MOMENT, VITYA HAS CUT OFF ALL OF HIS BEAUTIFUL HAIR!!! NO MORE, PLEASE! NO MORE!!! 

  **Biellmann Spins:** Let's mourn Victor's hair and the new era. 

  **Death Dropper:** Aye.

  **Hydroblading is Cool:** Aye.

  **4TSLoFLzA:** Aye.

  **Twizzles on Ice:** ; _ ; 

  **Ice Arabesque:** Look, I'm also sad and stuff about Victor's haircut... But... Do we all agree he looks hot in his new hairstyle, because... Those bangs ;)

  **Vitya For Gold:** IKR THANK GOD I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE 

  **Viccccccc:** You kidding me? OF COURSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  **Go for the Lutz:** THAT'S A NEW NIKIFOROV ERA, GUYS!!!!!! I hope that means he's going to try harder next year. We all want to see the Quad Lutz or Flip get ratified.

  **NiKiFoRoV:** IF HE RATIFIES THE FLIP, HE'S GOING TO WIN GOLD, GUYS.

  **Donut Spinning:** Let's go back to discussing about Vitya's new hairstyle.

  **Ice White Skates:** I have a feeling Admin Axel is just sitting back and thinking  _what have I done_

 **Admin Axel:** ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Naw. Say what you want! Just keep things polite. 

 

***

 The three of them were just running around candy stores and doing window-shopping. Victor earned quite a lot of attention from passers-by, and Mila and Yuuri had to rush him away from rabid fans.

 ' Soooooooo,' Yuuri said, after they had run away from another mob of fans (crying about his hair cut again). ' Does this have something to do with Evgenia's retirement?'

 Mila's eyes widened and she almost dropped the lollipop she was holding. 

 Victor coughed.

 ' I take that as a yes?' Yuuri sighed.

 Victor narrowed his eyes, ' How did you know?'

 ' Um... You've always been so  _extra_ that it no longer surprises me?' Yuuri suggested. ' I don't mean to pry into your business, but...'

 ' You feel lonely,' Mila accused. ' So you went all  _dramatic_ and decided to cut your hair to show how sad you are. I think many distressed characters get their hair cut off in fairy tales...' 

  _Great,_ Victor's mind said helpfully.  _This kid is too smart for her own good._

' Look,' Victor said. ' I hate being too vulnerable or weak in front of others.'

 ' Feeling lonely doesn't mean you are weak,' Mila said. ' It's normal. Yura misses his grandfather too, and that doesn't make the tiger kid any weaker.' Yuuri nodded, agreeing with what she said. 

 Victor winced, ' But Evgenia has been with me for half of my career! She's my only family.'

 ' You offend me,' Mila said crossly. ' What are Yura, Georgi and I? Your next door neighbours?'

  ' You and Yura aren't even competing yet. Georgi is just... weird. Yakov is definitely out of the picture. Evgenia is the only one who understands the stress of being a senior skater,' Victor ranted. ' If she's gone... No one will be skating in the same bracket as me anymore.'

 Yuuri said thoughtfully, ' Not exactly... I've been debating whether to tell you now... But since you are that sad... I'll be telling you now.'

 ' Whaaat,' The two Russian skaters said at the same time.

 ' The JSF has invited me to participate in the Senior division next year,' Yuuri announced, barely containing his excitement because he was almost skipping.

 ' Whaaat,' Victor said again, blinking, his mind screaming  _cannot compute, cannot compute._

 ' OHHH,' Mila gasped. 

 ' I will be moving up to the Seniors next year. Remember Hayami-san? I think he got 4th place in the last GPF. He has only informed the JSF of his retirement recently, they have an empty spot for the GP series next year and they don't have anyone to fill up the spot,' Yuuri explained. ' Since I'm the only skater they have that is prepared and stuff, they have invited me to move up to the Senior division to fill up Hayami-san's spot. I've only received the notice three days ago, and everyone is pretty excited about it.'

 Realisation dawned on Victor, and his eyes were starting to brim with happy tears.

 Yuuri didn't quite notice his overjoyed expression, and he continued, ' Erm, I don't even know if I will be able to qualify for the Finals since my scores are not that great and I can't do any Quads, but I'll try. The JSF is still figuring out stuff and I will have to sign contracts and find myself a senior coach... And I need to get my own JSF sportswear... There's quite a lot to do-'

 Before he could finish his ramblings, Victor threw himself onto him and shook him, ' YUURIIII!!! I'M SO HAPPY!!! WE'RE GOING TO SKATE TOGETHER ON THE SAME ICE AT LAST!!! I FINALLY HAVE SOMEONE!!! YOU ARE A JGP MEDALIST FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE! OF COURSE YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE IT PAST THE QUALIFIERS! AND I'LL ASK YAKOV TO HELP YOU.'

 Mila pouted, ' Again, are we just your next-door neighbours?' 

 Yuuri's glasses were askew from all of Victor's hugging, and his cheeks were flushed. Passers-by were staring at the trio, because they were making so much noises in the middle of the street.

 ' What about a coach? You need to get yourself a coach,' Mila said.

 ' Since they informed me in such short notice, the JSF will be assigning a temporary coach,' Yuuri said. ' But I think I already have an offer from the Detroit Skate Club.'

 ' Is it Celestino Cialdini?' Victor asked. ' I think he's the best in the Detroit Skate Club. Well, he used to coach Leroy, I think. Are you going to go to Detroit?'

 ' I'm planning to attend the university there, and I've already been emailing Celestino about the arrangements. He seems fine with it, so I'll probably be training under him once I get to university,' Yuuri shrugged. ' Erm, Victor... Can you...'

 ' Whoops, sorry!' Victor untangled himself from Yuuri. ' I'm just too happy.'

 ' _And smitten_ ,' Mila whispered loudly in Russian with a knowing look.

 ' Oh, shut up,' Victor said, blushing. 

 ' What was that?' Yuuri asked curiously.

 ' NOTHING,' Victor tried hushing Mila.

 ' _Nothing indeed,'_ Mila smiled, and switched back to English. ' I think we should go back for the banquet before Yakov explodes.'

 ' Yeah,' Yuuri said. ' I need to find Minako-sensei.' 

 Victor wailed, ' Are you leaving so soon?'

 ' Relax, we will be seeing each other soon, I hope, assuming I can get to the Finals,' Yuuri said. 

 Victor promised, ' I'll make sure Yakov gives you pointers! Let's do video calls! I can teach you Quads so you can go out there with a boom! I can teach you more entrances to your Triple Axels!'

 ' That's very nice of you,' Yuuri beamed. ' Thanks.'

 The three of them returned to the hotel, and Victor was literally glowing throughout. Because he wasn't alone anymore.

  _Yuuri's going to be with me soon._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Victor is a Drama Queen. Oh well.
> 
> Mila's going to become really smart when she grows up. 
> 
> I used another Harry Potter reference!!! See if you can spot it :PPP


	23. Disobeying orders again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *loud whisper* I'M SO TIRED OF STUDYING!!!!!!!!

_NHK Trophy_

 ' I think you should stop fidgeting, Yuuri,' Celestino sighed, taking note of all the flashing cameras around them. ' Relax. It'll be fine.'

 Yuuri kept pinching the hem of his oversized Team Japan jacket, feeling extremely nauseous and terrified. He wondered if Victor felt like this before in his first Senior competition.  

 It was his first GP qualifier in his Senior division, and he most certainly didn't expect to enter the Finals in his first year. It was just a small test run. To see if he was fit for more challenges.

 He was extremely lucky to be assigned to his home turf, so he could feel more at ease. 

 But it was still pretty scary to see all the older skaters doing warm-ups and the overly excited reporters terrified him endlessly. 

 ' Katsuki-kun!' A familiar voice called him. ' Oh, there you are! I've been looking for you.'

 Thank god, it was just newscaster Morooka. He might be one of the friendliest reporters Yuuri had ever known, and Morook had been following his career since his very first junior Japanese Nationals. 

 ' Hi,' Yuuri nodded at him awkwardly.

 Morooka smiled kindly, ' I am just popping over here to wish you good luck! It's been ages since Japan has had a talented skater like you. _Ganbatte!_ ' He added as an afterthought, ' It's okay to be nervous. But remember to enjoy yourself on the ice. This is the fun part of skating.' 

 ' Thank you,' Yuuri smiled weakly. 

 ' It's almost time, Yuuri,' Celestino cleared his throat.

 Yuuri stood up from his comfortable spot, and started to make his way towards the rink. He wondered if Victor would be watching the competition on television. He had wanted to fly all the way to Japan to support him, but Yakov was being particularly difficult ( ' YOUR OWN QUALIFIER IS COMING UP SOON, YOUNG MAN.') and Yurio was screaming at him to stay put. 

 Anyways, he hoped his performance wouldn't disappoint. Even though Celestino was only supposed to coach him when he was at university, he agreed to fly over to overlook his competition preparations. He gave ideas and opinions on his step sequences and spins, and also accompanied him to the competitions, which was pretty nice of him.

 Victor gave him tips on how to do Quads, and he was sure that Yakov would have his head when he found out ( ' No worries, Yuuri! You can do it!'). But he would be attempting the Quad Toe Loop in his SP, just to test it out.

 He didn't recognise any of his competitors, and it felt kind of strange. At least they weren't paying a lot of attention to him. Maybe a minority of them were wondering,  _okay, who is this new Japanese skater? Where's Honoka? He looks pretty young._

 '  _Six-minute warm-up for Group 2,'_ The cool voice overhead announced in Japanese.

 He used the breathing techniques Celestino taught him, and skated onto the ice with the other competitors. They announced his name one by and one, and surprisingly, he had some fans holding up Japanese flags and cheering his name.

He tried out his Triple Axel jump first, and some of the audience 'ooh-ed' and 'ahh-ed'. Okay, he didn't fall. That was nice. His confidence was still intact-

 ' OH MY GOD.'

 ' AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT?!!!'

 ' WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?! OH. MY. GOD. SOMEONE GET A PICTURE.' 

 ' HOLY CRAP!!! LOOK, LOOK, LOOK!!!'

  A bomb might have exploded into the room, and everyone in the spectator stands were just screaming. Yuuri panicked, and paused his practice. Did something happen? 

 Next to him, the other skaters were also frowning, turning to find the source of distraction.

 And oh, Yuuri almost fell down when he saw it.

 Victor, who somehow sneaked out of the St.Petersburg home rink and hopped onto a plane, was standing next to Celestino at the side of the rink, grinning and waving to everyone. 

 Oh lord.

 He caught Yuuri's gaze, and waved jovially at him, ' Yuuri!!! Ganbatte!!!!!!!!' 

 More people gasped.

 It was hard to focus on the rest of practice, because the other competitors were just too busy gaping at the next Living Legend of Figure Skating. Yuuri tried to look away from the entrance of the rink but it was hard... Really hard...

 He was the first to skate in Group 2, and the skaters left the rink after 6 minutes, still gaping at The Victor Nikiforov.

 As extra as Victor was... His presence was somewhat reassuring to Yuuri. There was this warm feeling settling in his heart, and he seriously felt more at ease. 

 He took his position at the centre of the rink, and Victor gave him thumbs-up as the music began.

 '  _Well, looks like we spotted Nikiforov at the NHK Trophy. What is he even doing here? I thought his assignments are Trophee de France and Rostelecom Cup.'_

_' We believe he's supporting... Japanese skater Katsuki Yuuri? My, my. I didn't know they knew each other.'_

_' Why not? Katsuki Yuuri is believed to be Japan's Ace after he won bronze at last year's JWC and moved on to the Senior Division. Let's see... Very nice combination spin there.'_

Victor was being really distracting. He was jumping up and down.

 '  _Erm... First jump and an ambitious one... A Quad Toe Loop. This is his first Quad attempt so let's see how it will go... Oh! He did it!'_

_' This is amazing! Next jump, also an ambitious one, his signature Triple Axel. This is a hard jump, but he has been landing it consistently in the Junior competitions. Success!'_

 ' _Is Nikiforov okay, haha!'_

_' Brilliant step sequences. Katsuki is well-known for his flexibility and musicality while skating, and he never ceases to amaze us.'_

_' Final jump, a Triple Flip, Triple Toe combination. Oh, a little wobbly at the landing of the Flip, but I think he saved it. Brilliant!'_

Okay, he might have nearly messed up the Triple Flip, but the entire thing went okay. Everyone was screaming out loud, and flowers, plushies and other gifts started to rain down on him. He was panting hard, and waved sheepishly to his fans. 

 ' Yuuuuuuuri!' Victor was being very loud. ' Yuuuuri! That was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!!!'

 The reporters at the side watched in shock as a very excited Victor hugged Yuuri. 

 ' Oh my god, Victor, did you disobey Yakov's orders again?' Yuuri took his skate guards from Celestino and eyed him severely.

 ' What? That's all you are saying to me? I'm hurt,' Victor placed a hand over his heart, and pretended to sniff. 

 ' No no, I'm happy to see you... But shouldn't you be practicing for your own qualifiers?' Yuuri flushed. 

 ' I needed a break!' Victor winked. ' And Mila... She helped smuggle my stuff out.' 

 Yuuri imagined the little auburn haired girl sneaking Victor's belongings out of his apartment while sniggering and then sweet-talking Yurio into not telling Yakov.

 ' Of course. I pity Yakov sometimes,' He sighed, shrugging on his jacket. ' So... I'm going to the Kiss and Cry now...? Catch up with you later.'

 ' Sure!' Victor beamed, and several fans swooned.

 Typical. That was the famous _Nikiforov effect_ , and Yuuri was glad that he wasn't affected by it (not entirely fine, but at least he could stay on his feet/skates).

 '  _The scores please for Katsuki Yuuri.'_

Celestino placed a hand on his shoulder, and Yuuri crossed his fingers nervously.

 '  _95.30! Excellent, a personal best!'_

Yuuri sighed in relief. He wished he had done better... But... Hey. That was the first competition in the season, and it should be okay. 

 ' Yuuri! Amazing!' Victor did a heart-shape with his hands, more fans fainted and reporters were just swarming around him already.

 ' Mr. Nikiforov, do you know Skater Katsuki?'

 ' What comments do you have?'

 ' What are you doing here, Mr. Nikiforov? Are you supporting a fellow competitor?'

 And Morooka was completely squashed.

 Finally, he could spot him, squashed between two reporters, and his head popped out from the crowd.

 ' Katsuki-san!!! Explain this!!!' He gestured wildly between Victor and Yuuri, looking pretty betrayed.

 Even Celestino was bemused.  ' What is Victor Nikiforov doing here?' 

 ' Oh. Boy,' Yuuri groaned. 

 He was so hoping he wouldn't need to face the reporters at all.

 At this rate, Yakov would be screaming at the rink again after hearing the news. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: time skip!!! :DDD


	24. A secret invitation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHHHH I'M SO SORRY FOR DELAYING THIS CHAPTER! D: 
> 
> I just can't find a way to write this properly. Still can't say I'm fully pleased, but well, that's that. 
> 
> Chapter summary: Yuuri has a brush, if you still remember what this is... XD

_2 years later_

  _World Figure Skating Championships 2010_

Yuuri did it. His first bronze medal at the Worlds. 

 Victor got gold, to no one's surprise. He was in a crazy winning streak the entire season ever since he added that Quad Flip to his roster, winning gold at his GP qualifiers, GPF, Nationals, Europeans, Winter Olympics at Vancouver (both single and team event) and finally settled down with his final gold medal of the season in Turin, Italy. 

 As Japan's new top skater, Yuuri was nominated to go to the Olympics too, and finished in fourth even though he stumbled a bit in his FS. He was quite disappointed about not being able to stand next to Victor on the podium, but considering that it was his first Winter Olympics (hopefully he could attend more of them in the future), he did reasonably well.

 Most skaters opted to withdraw from the Worlds, as they had already 'peaked' at the Olympics and were apparently too tired to compete again. Chris was one of them, claiming that something had happened to his left ankle and he couldn't afford to aggravate it. Yuuri hoped it wasn't a fracture. 

 Or maybe that was why Yuuri got bronze at Worlds. He got lucky. 

 ' Yuuri, you did well! You deserved the bronze medal,' Celestino told him with a small sigh, when he was bathing in his own pool of self-doubts before the medal ceremony. ' Look, your FS score was better than the Vancouver one.'

 ' It's still not good enough,' Yuuri mumbled. ' The Quad-'

 ' Oh, Yuuri!' Celestino interrupted him. ' We can talk about your jumps later! But first, you need to focus on the medal ceremony. Have some fun! Smile at your fans!'

 Right. Have fun.

 He stood behind the silver medalist, a Canadian skater he didn't know well, patiently waiting for his turn. Victor stood at the edge of the rink, noticed him, and gave him a roguish wink.

 Fortunately, the lighting was dim and no one was able to spot Yuuri's flushed face. Not even the fans sitting above.

 Speaking of fans... Their fans were speculating their relationship ever since Victor showed up out of the blue at the NHK Trophy 2008 and half of the world was shouting about how Russia's Victor Nikiforov was somehow friends with Japan's newest top skater.

 After the entire figure skating world accepted Victor's new hairstyle as the best hairstyle ever (it took several months and occasionally there would still be a user or two mourning the loss of the 'silver moonlight woven into delicate strands'), online articles started cooing about the figure skating world's 'powerful friendship duo' and ' Ice BFFs'. Even the official Olympics YouTube channel made tons of promotional videos about the power of the Katsuki-Nikiforov friendship, friendship goals and more. Figure skating rivals slash best friends were not exactly uncommon, but the fans marvelled at how adorable they looked together.

 Some fans argued that Chris was supposed to be Victor's BFF. And the man himself released a statement on his latest interview.

 

**Interviewer:** Have you seen all the articles on the Winter Olympics Friendship Duo?

**Chris Giacometti:** Of course, yes! Victor! Yuuri! If you're reading this, PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU'RE ADORABLE AND LET'S GO OUT FOR DINNER SOMEDAY. :DDD

**Interviewer:** Some people think that you are supposed to be Victor's BFF. What do you think about this? 

**Chris Giacometti:** We are friends. But I'm Victor's BBF, meaning Best Bros Forever. Not exactly BFF. That's different. (insert wink)

**Interviewer:** Is that supposed to be different?

**Chris Giacometti:** Of course! Bros pull crazy stunts together, cut each other's hair, and ah yes, I was the one who styled Victor Nikiforov's new hairstyle!!! I don't get enough credit for it! I think I can become a professional stylist. _Imagine: House Giacometti._

 (The rest was his beauty tips, which wasn't related to skating at all.) 

 

 Yeah, the fans were mostly correct. They were inseparable during competitions. They showed up to public events together. 

 12 year old Katsuki Yuuri would have died from a heart attack, knowing that he would be best buddies with his idol in the future. 

 But Yuuri was quite sure that... He might be having a slight crush on his 'best friend'.

( In Yurio language, he had a 'brush' on Victor, but that was unknown to Yuuri.) 

 He shook his head. Victor thought of them as friends, so he should keep it that way.

 He was probably having a blank expression on his face, so Victor looked at him with concern.

  _I'm fine,_ Yuuri mouthed. He was starting to feel rather guilty. 

 ( Or 'goose', in Yurio language again. That was also unknown to Yuuri.)

 Oh, how he wished Evgenia was here! Because Evgenia would most likely be able to offer helpful advice to his internal crisis and not judge him at all. Alas, he hadn't seen the former reigning world champion, who was travelling the world and doing ice shows, in ages. And he preferred to speak to her face to face over sending something to her email, which was most likely clogged up by fan mails. 

 The medal ceremony passed like a blur. Yuuri hoped he didn't look to bad in the podium photo, but there were butterflies in his stomach when Victor put his arm around him.

 Soon, Yuuri was back in the safety of the locker room to change out of his costume. Victor was nowhere to be found, as he was dragged off in the other direction by many reporters, who were eager to ask about the secret behind his consistency. 

 Yuuri folded his costume and carefully stuck his medal between it. 

 ' Congratulations.'

 Yuuri nearly jumped in surprise. Coach Yakov was standing at the doorway.

 ' C-coach Yakov!' He said, startled. ' I... Um, thanks.' Even though Victor always complained in his emails that Yakov was being a demanding, grumpy grandfather, Yuuri respected the Russian coach deeply. After all, he was the one who gave him the precious opportunity to be noticed by the JSF and encouraged him to skate. 

 Yakov said, ' Vitya always said to me that you will be a great skater.'

  _Whaaat, did he really?_ Yuuri squirmed a little. 

' So. I'm asking you something. Would you like to be a guest instructor at my camp this summer?' Yakov asked. ' Young skaters would love to work with you and hear about your Olympic experience.'

 Yuuri gaped at him, stunned. 

 ' I talked to your coach about it just now, and he thinks it's a great idea. If it doesn't interfere with your university work, that is. You can continue to train at the rink. Lilia said she would love to give you more ballet lessons.'

 ' You're...' Yuuri stammered. ' Inviting me to be a guest instructor at your ice rink?'

 ' That is correct,' Yakov nodded. 

 To his surprise, Yuuri bowed so deeply in gratitude that his glasses nearly fell off, ' Y-yes! I'd love to! It is such a great honour to be able to attend your camp again! T-thank you, Coach Yakov!' 

 ' Um, you're most welcome. I'll email you the details,' Yakov said, perplexed by the amount of respect Yuuri had for him. He wasn't exactly used to his skaters bowing to him and thanking him. 

 He was starting to get jealous of Celestino for having such a great kid as a student. 

 ' You are welcome,' He blinked. ' And I only ask you for one thing. Please, don't tell Vitya about this until you arrive at St. Petersburg. This is for the sake of all the other skaters' and my health. I swear he's going to be unbearable. Zhenya used to help me keep them in check... She's the only one Vitya would listen to. And since she's gone... Yeah, you get the picture.' 

 ' Alright,' Yuuri laughed. He could imagine Victor screaming and running around the rink, with a bunch of rowdy kids chasing after him. 

  ' I didn't tell Mila either. Those two are as thick as thieves these days...' Yakov groaned. 

 ' They can't be that bad,' Yuuri said earnestly. 

 Yakov deadpanned, ' Please. Don't even talk to me about that GPF banquet fiasco.'

  Mila was able to move up to the Juniors this season, and took the ladies division by the storm. She won the JGPF by a landslide and was an immediate fan-favourite in the Russian figure skating world.

  ' The GPF banquet... I guess... It's partially Chris's fault, isn't it?' Yuuri sighed. 

 Chris, the King of GPF banquet disasters. He allegedly pulled in a portable synthetic ice rink at the 2007 banquet, and transformed the ball room into a temporary 'ice rink' within minutes. Someone got a concussion from trying to do a death spiral on it. And apparently Chris and Victor Triple-axeled themselves into the wall.

 The aftermath? Their skates were ruined, Yakov fainted and there was a huge dent on the rink that looked suspiciously like a foot print (???). 

 This time, he brought in a huge boom box and started playing all kinds of rock and jazz music. Victor, who was already slightly tipsy from champagne, had pulled Mila into a dance. Then, they tripped over a lady's handbag (whose handbag was it?!), and fell onto the dessert table, taking out all the cakes. Yuuri, who was avoiding the danger the entire time, got a good measure of chocolate pudding over his glasses. One of the smaller cakes were stuck on top of Yakov's porkpie hat (somehow). Before the ISU officials could swoop in, Mila and Victor fled from the scene, taking a dozen of eclairs and fruit tarts (that surprisingly survived the wreckage) with them for a midnight snack. 

 Fortunately, the ISU decided that it was a freak accident and no one got punished. Yuuri reckoned it was mostly because they didn't want to stir up trouble. 

 But it was still a banquet to remember.

 ' I don't know,' Yakov grumbled. ' But I know that Vitya is going to give me a heart attack some day! I should get going. And.. You MUST keep it a secret, okay!'

 ' Okay,' Yuuri nodded.

 ' Get some rest before the exhibition rehearsal. You'll need it,' Yakov clapped him on the back in a fatherly manner. ' Now will you excuse me, I need to fish Vitya out from the reporters before he says or does anything embarrassing again.' He turned and raced down the corridor. 

 Yuuri packed up the rest of his belongings into his sports bag.

 A guest instructor, huh. He hadn't been to St. Petersburg since 4 years ago, and he was excited to see everyone again.

  _Hopefully Yurio isn't as grumpy._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So excited for the European Championships!!!! We'll finally be able to see Evgenia and Alina's showdown AT LAST! XDDDD 
> 
> (My money is still on Evgenia, but Alina is very impressive too.)
> 
> I really liked Virtue and Moir's revamped FD. Hope they can win at the Olympics!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment to tell me what you think! I'd love to hear from you. :DDD


End file.
